Globalization and Regionalism Trends PDF

Chapter Four: Globalization and Regionalism  the world becomes one, and interactions among diverse people begin to look like those within a village. Thus terms such as “One World” homogenization and “Villagization” are sometimes used as synonyms for globalization. In its contemporary for...

Chapter Four: Globalization and Regionalism  the world becomes one, and interactions among diverse people begin to look like those within a village. Thus terms such as “One World” homogenization and “Villagization” are sometimes used as synonyms for globalization. In its contemporary form, globalization is driven by a variety of forces. These are flow of financial resources(electronic money), the flow of goods and services, labor, technology, especially transport, communications and information technology(we all watch the same television programmes), the spread of culture from one corner of the world to the other, and the global diffusion of religious ideas as well as ideologies.  4.1. Defining Globalization  Globalization can be defined as a multidimensional process characterized by: (1)the stretching of social and political activities across state frontiers  For instance wars and conflicts in developing countries would increase the flow of asylum seekers and illegal migrants in to the developed countries; (2) the intensification or the growing magnitude of interconnectedness in almost every aspect of social existence from the economic to the ecological, the spread of HIV-AIDS, from the intensification of world trade to the spread of different weapons; (3) the accelerating pace of global interactions and process as the evolution of worldwide systems of transport and communication increases the rapidity of ideas, news, goods, information, capital and technology move around the world;  4.2. The Globalization Debates  Globalization is a contentious issue in international relations.  There has been intense debate as to the direction, nature and effect of globalization on states.  In this regard, there are three perspectives: A. the hyper-globalists, B. the skeptics, and C. transformationalists 4.2.1. The Hyper-globalists  nation states become obsolete to regulate their economy and boundary  This view of globalization privileges the economic over the political, the market over the state, and suggests the decline of states. the authority and legitimacy of states is undermined as the national governments become increasingly unable to control the Trans boundary movements and flows of goods, services, ideas and different socio- economic activities inside their borders economic globalization is generating a new pattern of losers as well as winners in the international economy 4.2.2. The Skeptics rejects the view of super- globalist as a myth, flawed and politically naïve since it fundamentally underestimate the enormous power of national governments to regulate international economic activities. States are central actors and agents of globalization playing central role in shaping and regulating the economic activities including the Trans-boundary flows of ideas, goods and peoples. undermine the view that the world is interconnected and moving into a village where by there exists a free flow of goods and services, investment and circulation of money from one corner of the world in to another.  For that matter, Skeptics argues that there is no free flow of goods, resources, technology and finance at the global level; instead we have regional based globalization  In this regard, it has become evident that the Western region is more intergraded and globalized than the other part of the world such as Africa and Asia.  The Skeptics thus do not believe that globalization would help to narrow the economic and technological gap that is still prevailing between the Global North(developed Countries) and The Global South(Developing countries). 4.2.3. The Transformationalist  they reject both the hyper globalist view of the end of the sovereign state as well as the Skeptics claim that nothing much has changed.  Instead they assert that a new sovereignty regime is displacing traditional conception of state power as an absolute, indivisible, territorially exclusive power.  Under globalization, there are non-state actors such as MNCs, transnational social movements, international regulatory agencies.  In this sense world order can no longer be conceived as purely State-Centric or even primarily state managed as authority has become increasingly diffused amongst public and private a agencies at the local, national, regional and at global levels  This does not mean that the power of national government is necessarily diminished but on the contrary it is being redefined, reconstituted and restructured in response to the growing complexity of process of governance in a more interconnected world.  Globalization has therefore increasingly taken the appearance of the transformation of the international system from a multi- polar or bipolar system to an imperial system under American hegemony. Within this system, decisions and outcomes are largely the result of American unilateralism. A major consequence of this is the propagation of a universal paradigm for both economic and political development, in the form of the so-called Washington Consensus, whose main features are market forces and liberal democracy, without regard to the historical and cultural specificities of individual countries  In sum, globalization seems to be leading to the homogenization of the world, with the United States as the model and the standard by which all other countries are to be judged In the case of Africa, its position in the international system has been considerably weakened by the fact that it has been losing the race for economic development in general, and human development in particular, to other regions. This poor performance by African countries accounts in part for the political and social instability and the rise of authoritarian regimes that have characterized much of postcolonial Africa further weakening the ability of African countries to deal effectively with globalization  Specific impacts of globalization on Africa can be identified. In the political sphere, the most important consequence is the erosion of sovereignty, especially on economic and financial matters, as a result of the imposition of models, strategies and policies of development on African countries by the IMF, the WB and the WTO. African governments are unable to determine and control events in their countries, and thus their accountability and responsiveness to their people, given the fact that the context, institutions and processes by which these decisions are taken are far from democratic.  One major positive impact of globalization on Africa is that it has made available information on how other countries are governed and the freedoms and rights their people enjoy.  Economically, globalization has reinforced the economic marginalization of African economies and their dependence on a few primary goods for which demand and prices are externally determined  This has, in turn, bring out poverty and economic inequality Economic and social stagnation has also triggered a substantial brain- drain from Africa, As a result of the cultural domination from outside that goes with globalization, African countries are rapidly losing their cultural identity and therefore their ability to interact with other cultures on an equal and autonomous basis  4.3. Pros and Cons of Globalization Globalization has its merits and demerits. Among the leading merits of globalization are the expansion of democratic culture, human right and the protection of historically minority and subaltern groups. Innovation in science, medicine, and technology and information communication has enabled the improvement of quality of life. Agricultural technological expansion resulted in the lifting out of millions of people out of poverty. The technological and social revolution significantly contributed to advancement of human security and safety.  Moreover, the free movement of good, service, people, ideas, skill, knowledge and technology across national borders strengthened international interdependence.. However, globalization is not also without its demerits. Global capital and international financial institutions like WB and IMF made free inroads into countries of the south influencing the economic and political dynamics negatively. With technological advancement, climatic, environmental and technological risks have multiplied. Globalization, in the sense of connectivity to the global economic and cultural life, threatening the continuity of non-Western traditions, way of life and cultural values  Besides, the globalization has made the globalization of risks, threats and vulnerabilities like global terrorism, religious fundamentalism, proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALWs), arms and human trafficking. Moreover, globalization has stimulated the emergence of simultaneous but opposite process of Glocalization, which involves a process of integration to the world and differentiation to the local. This process has contributed to the rise of radical nationalism and ethnicity, which set the context for the emergence of the era of identity and identity conflicts. In general, without denying the opportunities of globalization, countries of the global south have faced multidimensional economic, political, socio-cultural, security and military challenges induced by globalization.  4.4. Regionalism and Regional Integration  Region can be defined as a limited number of states linked together by a geographical relationship and by a degree of mutual interdependence (Nye, 1968).  Regionalism consequently refers to intensifying political and/or economic processes of cooperation among states and other actors in particular geographic region  Regionalism normally presents the sustained cooperation (either formal or informal) among governments, non-governmental organizations, or the private sectors in three or more countries for mutual gains  The occurrences of regionalism have expanded across all parts of the world. In contrast, the theories to explain these developments are limited and Eurocentric (Soderbaum 2003). Most of the theories have been developed under the dominant European contexts. Later, we experienced the successful regional grouping in North America. Therefore, this section is an attempt to demonstrate theories that explain the possibilities of the formation of regional grouping as much as possible.  4.4.1. The Old Regionalism For many scholars, regionalism, as a voluntary and comprehensive process, is predominantly a post-World War II phenomenon. It emerged in Western Europe in the late-1940s, subsequently spreading to the developing world. A. Regional Integration in Europe and Beyond. A series of initiatives were launched, which resulted in the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951. The long-term goal was more ambitious, and in 1958 the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) were integrated into the EC B. Regional Integration in Africa  In sharp contrast to the European debate, which focused heavily on regional integration, the keywords here were development, state-promoted industrialization and nation-building, first and foremost through protectionism and import-substitution.  the rationale of regional cooperation and integration among LDCs was not to be found in marginal economic change within the existing structure, but rather, through the fostering of ‘structural transformation’ and the stimulation of productive capacities (industrialization), whereby investment and trading opportunities were being created.  The structuralist school thus shifted its focus away from economic integration as means for peace and political unification, to one of regional economic cooperation/integration as means for economic development and state-formation.  This type of regionalism resulted in the creation of the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA) in Montevideo in 1960. LAFTA was a comprehensive and continental project and included all countries on the South American continent plus Mexico.  Regionalization in Latin America during 1960s and 1970s did not materialized because of conflict and military dictatorship The major purpose of regionalization in Africa was to resist colonial and post-colonial influence, protectionism and realizing import substitution. Among the various state led regional organizations in Africa were the CFA (Community of French Africa), East African Community (EAC), SACU (Southern African Community Union), (The Southern Africa Development Coordination SADC  4.4.2. New Regionalism The prospects of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Single European Act resulted in a new dynamic process of European integration. This was also the start of what has often been referred to as ‘new regionalism’ on a global scale. The new regionalism referred to a number of new trends and developments, such as the spectacular increase in the number of regional trade agreements, an externally oriented and less protectionist type of regionalism, an anti-hegemonic type of regionalism which emerged from within the regions themselves instead of being controlled by the superpowers, the rise of a more multi-dimensional and pluralistic type of regionalism, which was not primarily centered around trading schemes or security cooperation and with a more varied institutional design, and the increasing importance of a range of business and civil society actors in regionalization