2425 HG Chapter 2 Changing Global Context Notes PDF

Chapter 2 – The Changing Global Context Themes:  The changing human geographies and the evolving interdependence among places and regions  the evolution of the world-system from mini-systems to world empires to world- systems (core, semi-periphery and...

Chapter 2 – The Changing Global Context Themes:  The changing human geographies and the evolving interdependence among places and regions  the evolution of the world-system from mini-systems to world empires to world- systems (core, semi-periphery and periphery)  How geographical divisions of labor (core, periphery) have evolved with the growth of a worldwide system of trade and politics and opportunities provided by technology systems.0 1. Pre-modern World The basics of human geography are the ability to understand places and regions as parts of constantly changing global system. All geography then is historical geography. a) Hearth areas The first agricultural revolution was a transition from hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural-based: i) Mini systems – a society with a reciprocal social economy – each person specializes in certain tasks (tending animals, making pottery etc.) and freely gives any excess product to others. The takers reciprocate and in turn give up their surplus product of their own specialization. These societies are found in subsistence-based economies. They are limited in geographic scale (do not need huge intensive physical infrastructure). ii) Slash-and-burn – The transition to mini-systems began in the Proto-Neolithic (Early Stone Age) period and based on many technological preconditions (ie: use of fire) and development of tools for food. Domestication of animals was important too. Slash and burn was a system of cultivation where plants were harvested close to the ground, stubble left to dry and then ignited – Stubble provided fertilizer for the soil. iii) Hearth areas are geographic settings where new practices have developed and from which they have spread. There are four: 1) in the Middle East (ie: Fertile Crescent), 2) in South Asia (ie: near Ganges River, Bangladesh and northern India). 3) In China (ie: near Yellow River) and 4) In the Americas (ie: Mesoamerica, Mexico) Ms. Sadek Term I Ch 2 Page 1   The transition to food producing mini-systems had effects for long-term evolution of world geographies: i) Allow much higher population densities – encouraged many villages to increase ii) Brought about a change in social organization (loose systems to kinship groups) iii) Allows specialization in nonagricultural crafts (pottery, textiles, weapons, jewelry) iv) Specializations lead to: the start of barter and trade between communities over distances. b) Growth of Early Empires i) World-empire – Population grew, changes in social organization followed alongside trade and the emergence of world empires took place. It is a group of mini systems that have been absorbed into a common political system. Money comes from producer classes to an elite class by way of taxes. Ie ( Egyptian civilization, Roman civilization, Chinese, Greek etc) ii) Colonization – the physical settlement in a new territory of people from a colonizing state. iii) Law of Diminishing returns – was a indirect effect to colonization: this law refers to the tendency for productivity to decline after a certain point with the addition of capital/labor to a given resource base. World empires could support growing populations ONLY IF levels of productivity could be increased. So how does one go about fixing this problem? By enlarging their resource based and colonizing nearby lands! This had an effect on the improvement of transportation networks as well. The legacy of this is still apparent in today’s physical landscapes; ie: Roman city walls, paved streets, aqueducts, baths, public buildings and Roman roads. Coupled with a base of geographic knowledge specifically in Greek civilization, and geographic writings that were essential tools preparing colonists and merchants for faraway places, these world empires were based on a strong central state with totalitarian rulers – hydraulic societies (irrigation and drainage systems) iv) Urbanization - Towns and cities became centers for administration. They gave rise to capital cities and smaller settlements. As town populations grew, urbanization resulted. Extensive urban systems, ie: Mesopotamian city of Ur (Iraq), Thebes, the capital of ancient Egypt, Athens and Rome. 2. Geography of the Pre-modern World i) Three examples – The characteristics of the period in the Old World circa 1400 (15th century): 1) Harsh environments in landlocked areas characterized by subsistence-level, hunting and gathering mini systems. 2) Pastoral mini systems – herding 3) Sedentary agricultural production extended from Morocco to China Ms. Sadek Term I Ch 2 Page 2  The centers of global civilization were China, Northern India and the Ottoman Empire – all linked together by the SILK ROAD. (a series of overland trade routes between China & Med. Europe). By 1400 CE, other world-empires developed in Southeast Asia, Muslim cities in North Africa, grasslands of West Africa and merchant towns of Europe. ii) Capitalism – Over time all these areas were connected by trade and centers of capitalism came into existence. It is a form of economic and social organization characterized by the profit motive (making Money) and control of the means of production , distribution and exchange of goods by private ownership. iii) Port cities – Important to capitalism – ie: Venice, Cairo, Calicut, Malacca in North Africa and Asia. Traders in these areas began to organize the production of agricultural specialties, textiles and craft products in their hinterland – the part of a town or city and its sphere of economic activity –the area where it collects products to be exported and through which it distributes imports. iv) Geographic knowledge began spreading because of Chinese and Islamic scholars v) Centers of scholarship arose in Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo, and Granada Spain. 3. An interdependent world geography a) World – System – an interdependent system of countries linked by political and economic competition. Coined by Immanuel Wallerstein b) By the 16th century: new techniques of shipbuilding and navigation binded places together through trade and political competition. Result: People more exposed to one another’s technologies and ideas. c) External areas – were regions of the world that were not yet absorbed in the world- system. It was European merchant capitalism that changed and reshaped the world:  High density population – limited land (no food)  Competition from monarchies (poor aristocrats – no land)  Innovations in shipbuilding (maps), navigation, gunnery  Naval power helped the Portuguese and Spanish – gold and silver from the Americas.  Equipped with better maps and technology, Europeans colonized and exploited cheap labor to produce high-value crops (Sugar, cocoa, cotton etc.) on plantations. i) Within Europe – Innovations in business and finance helped to increase savings, investment and commercial activity. Import substitution --copying and making good previously available only by trading—helped Europe become a core region of the world. Improvements in technology (nautical mapmaking, naval artillery, shipbuilding and sailing) intensified capitalism. Ms. Sadek Term I Ch 2 Page 3  ii) Within periphery – Exploitation of labor, shipping trades ruined, and territory annexed. 4. Core & Periphery in the New World System (18th century) i) With the new production and transportation technologies of the Industrial Revolution, capitalism truly became a global system that reached into every part of the inhabited world and every part of people’s lives. ii) With new transportation technologies, the Industrial Revolution ensued - its effects were uneven and its impact marked the full entry of the world-system into people’s lives. iii) Imperialism – New technologies in transport led to increased geographic expansion which led to imperialism: the deliberate exercise of military power and economic influence by powerful states in order to advance and secure their national interests.  The result was a structured relationship between places and regions: this relationship is organized around three tiers: Core, Peripheral and Semi peripheral regions. iv) Core Regions in early 19th century (England, France & Holland) – they are the regions that dominate rade, control most advanced technologies, high levels of productivity and have diverse economies. They enjoy high capita incomes. Their success depends on the exploitation of other regions (through Military enforcement at first and then by: v) Colonialism – the establishment and maintenance of political and legal power by a state over a separate society. (involves colonization usually) vi) Peripheral Regions – characterized by dependent and unequal trading relationships, primitive technologies, underdeveloped or narrow economies and low levels of productivity vii) Semi peripheral Regions – are able to exploit peripheral regions but are themselves exploited by the core- They were once peripheral. Changes in the status of this three-tiered world-system depends on international competition of domestic producers., creating physical and social infrastructures, and regulating their respective economies. Hence, the hierarchy between them is fluid – change is possible. viii) Leadership Cycles- periods of international power established by individual states through economic, political and military competition. For example, Portugal in the 16th century and the Netherlands in the 17th century, Britain in the 18th century until Ms. Sadek Term I Ch 2 Page 4  the 20th century, USA from the 1950s until now – those were their leadership cycles. This kind of dominance is known as: ix) Hegemony – domination over the world economy, exercised through a combo of economic, military, financial and cultural means- by one state in a particular historical period. 5. Organizing the Periphery The growth and development of the core regions couldn’t have happened without the raw materials and markets provided by the colonization of the periphery. a) International Division of Labor – Logic behind colonization was economic – the need for an extended area for trade, a place that could supply raw materials and foodstuffs in return for the industrial goods of the core – the result: an international division of labor driven by the needs of the core and imposed and enforced through military and economic strength. This division involved the specialization of different people, regions, and countries in certain kinds of economic activities. Colonies began to specialize in the production of COMMODITIES: (a) where there’s a demand existed in the industrial core and where colonies held a: b) Comparative Advantage – in specializations that did not duplicate or compete with the domestic suppliers within core countries (tropical agricultural products like cocoa, bananas that can’t be grown in core countries). The result: Colonial economies were founded on narrow specializations dependent on core needs examples: bananas in Central America, cotton in India, coffee in Brazil, copper in Chile, sugar in the Caribbean Islands, tea in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), most of these specializations still exist today. The imprint of imperialism and colonization on the geographies of the newly incorporated peripheries of the world-system was profound. The periphery was made entirely dependent on European and North American capital, shipping, managerial expertise, financial services, and news and communications. Consequently, it became dependent on European cultural products: language, education, science, religion, architecture and planning. The most important innovation that helped this international division of labor were STEAMSHIPS – involved improvements in engines, boilers, fuel systems, and construction materials that improved carrying capacity, speed, range and reliability. (Ie: Suez Canal and Ms. Sadek Term I Ch 2 Page 5 Panama Canal) Also, a network of telegraph communications helped businesses to monitor supply and demand across large distances. The result of this international division of labor brought about an increase in trade and the capitalist world economy boomed. By the end of the 19th century, the core included USA and Japan. Patterns of international trade became more and more complex – Core countries like Britain and the US invested capital and traded with each other. Imperialism: Imposing New Geographies on the World With the increasing interconnectedness of the world-system, competition between core countries intensified and later developed into a scramble for territorial and commercial power. Geographic expansion resulted and this was an era of imperialism in the final quarter of the 19th century. (1880-1914) The ‘Scramble for Africa’ was carved up by European colonies in just 34 years with no regard for physical geography or the existing mini systems and world empires. The whole of African became incorporated in the modern world-system with a geography that was comprised of three kinds of spaces. 1) Regions organized by European colonial administrators and European investors to produce commodities for the world market 2) Zones of production for local markets where peasant farmers produced food for consumption by laborers 3) Widespread regions of subsistence agriculture whose connection with the world system was a source of labor for the commercial regions. There came to be a ‘scientific’ rationale for the domination of the periphery by Europeans and North Americans. c) Ethnocentrism – the attitude that one’s race and culture are superior to those of others d) Environmental determinism – a doctrine that holds that human activities are shaped and constrained by the environment. 6. The Third World and Neocolonialism Post WWII, US emerged as a hegemonic force, the strongest state in the world-system. It came to be called the First World, Soviet Union and China turned communist and were labeled Second War withdrawn from the capitalist world economy. The rest were called Third World, Fourth and Fifth respectively. By the 1950s – colonies started to seek political independence. Ie: Kenya and the Mau Mau- the periphery is known as the Third World – politically independent states some who chose to have a policy of nonalignment but still dependent on core economies. Ms. Sadek Term I Ch 2 Page 6  a) Neocolonialism – refers to the economic and political strategies by which powerful states in core economies indirectly maintain or extend their influence over other areas or people. How does this happen? Through international financial regulations, commercial relations, and secret intelligence. A new form of imperialism was also developing and this was called commercial imperialism of giant corporations. b) Transnational Corporations – have investments and activities that span international boundaries with subsidiary companies, factories, or facilities in several countries. Ie: Airbus, BP, Halliburton, Siemens, Virgin Group etc. These corporations have been portrayed by geographers as imperialist because of their ability to exercise control in ways that negatively affect peripheral states. This is a phase of globalization whereby all states are interconnected and integrated in the world-system. 7. Contemporary Globalization Globalization – is the increasing interconnectedness of different parts of the world through processes of economic, environmental, political and cultural change. Began since the 16th century - BY 19th century, with the world-system firmly established, global connections today differ in four ways from the past: i) Function at greater SPEED than ever before ii) Operate at a much larger SCALE – few people not affected by globalization iii) The SCOPE is much broader and has multiple dimensions (econ, tech,, poli, legal, social and cultural). iv) The COMPLEXITY of the various relationships and interactions between places and regions. Telecommunication technologies, corporate strategies and institutional frameworks have helped create an international financial system and mega giant corporations can now transfer their production activities from one part of the world to other cheaper regions in the world. Governments, in response to this, have tried to find new ways of dealing with the consequences of globalization - ie: NAFTA, EU a) Commodity Chains – are networks of labor and production processes that begin the extraction of production of raw materials and whose end result is the delivery and consumption of finished commodities (products). They span countries and continents, and have global assembly lines. b) Globalization has cultural dimensions as well: the diffusion around the world of all sorts of cultural forms and practices. I.e.: world music, ethnic cuisine etc. We live in a global culture today sharing universally shared images, practices and values. c) Place is now more important for geography – the new mobility of money, labor, products and ideas actually increases the significance of place in many important ways: Ms. Sadek Term I Ch 2 Page 7  i) The more universal the spread of material culture and lifestyles the more valuable regional differences and ethnic identities become. ii) The faster the information highway takes us, the more people feel they need a subjective setting (a community) they can call their own iii) The greater the reach and power of transnational corporations the more easily they are able to respond to place-to-place variations in labor and consumer markets. iv) The greater the integration of transnational governments the more sensitive people have become to local divisions of race, ethnicity and religion. 8. Issues/ Consequences of a Globalized World a) Environmental issues – ecological footprint – shows the extent and intensity of human influence on the land, reflecting population density, agricultural use, access from roads and waterways, electrical power infrastructure, and urbanization. The lower the number, the lesser the overall degree of human influence i) Climate change – a result of human activity – the byproducts of industrialization – garbage, air and water pollution, hazardous wastes, burning fossil fuels, agriculture and deforestation and cause CO2 and other greenhouse gases has implications for environmental quality. Look at case study of Lake Baykal, Russia. Sustainability – about the interdependence of the economy, the environment, and social well-being. – the Three Es (equity, economy and environment) b) Health issues – The increased intensity of international trade and travel has raised the risk and speed of disease. I.e. H1N1 influenza. Health care professionals are worried that a new strain of flu virus is likely to result in a pandemic. (An epidemic that spreads rapidly around the world with high rates of illness and death). Other examples – West Nile virus, Ebola, HIV/AIDS – Today, Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected part of the world with over 22.5 million people infected in 2009— more than 67% of the worldwide total…. c) Security Issues – With the high degree of interdependence that we live in security issues have come to the fore. I.e.: WMD, radiation accidents, international terrorism We are moving toward a risk society – where the significance of wealth distribution is being eclipsed by the distribution of risk and in which politics –both domestic and international –is increasingly about avoiding hazards. d) Core- Periphery disparity issues- The strongest outcome of today’s globalized world is the consolidation of the core of the world-system. (North America, EU, and Japan). Whereas the rest of the world struggle to live on less than $2 a day, people Ms. Sadek Term I Ch 2 Page 8  start to question the equity of the geographic consequences of globalization – spatial justice: to consider the unequal distribution of society’s benefits and burdens at different spatial scales. e) Worlds Apart Case study – Paul Rust and his family from the core – Switzerland and Hussein Sormolo of Ethiopia from the periphery. 9. Westernization and Cultural Imperialism a) Benjamin Barber – Jihad versus ‘McWorld’ – this is shorthand for the pop culture and shallow materialism that is part of the Western capitalist modernization and Jihad is shorthand for cultural values that are supported by religious fundamentalism, traditional tribal allegiances, and opposition to Western materialism. Neither, argues Barber, are favorable to a civil society with tensions existing in both until today. b) Within Islamic societies, there is cynicism with the West, modernization today equals Americanization. In most peripheral countries, only a minority can enjoy Western style consumerism and the poor majority is aware of the prosperity of the core countries. The majority of Americans today do not want to view their country as imperial or exploitative – the “war on terror” and the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq are interpreted in other parts of the world as an exercise to simply have more military control over global oil resources. Other academics have argued that the US’ role in today’s peripheral countries like the Middle East is a result of a highly competitive global economic environment where the States is no longer able to compete through innovation and so, needs to resort to military intervention. __________________________________________________________________________ Ms. Sadek Term I Ch 2 Page 9