Social Studies/Y4/Globalisation

=Globalisation=

Definitions

 * “… it refers to the fact that the world has become a smaller and ever more interconnected place: products are sources from far-flung corners of the globe; capital is electronically exchanged between countries; time and distance have been eroded by the advent of jet air travel; messages can be sent to a friend in another country as easily and quickly as they can to a friend in an adjacent room; companies focus on global rather than national markets; and individual nation-states respond to developments that occur in distant countries.” - Blair, A. & Curtis, S. (2009)
 * “… a set of social processes that appear to transform our present social condition of weakening nationality into one of globality… a social condition characterised by tight global economic, political, cultural, and environmental connections and flows make most of the currently existing borders and boundaries irrelevant.”- Manfred B. Steger (2009)
 * “… a transplanetary process or set of processes involving increasing liquidity and the growing multi-dimensional flows of people, objects, places and information as well as the structures they encounter and create that are barriers to, or expedite, those flows.” - George Ritzer (2011)

Conceptualising Globalisation

 * “Solid” and “liquid”
 * “Flows” of people, things and information
 * “Heavy”, “light” and “weightless”
 * Structures that expedite or impede “flows”: bridges and barriers

Different Views of Globalisation

 * Globalists regard globalisation be an inevitable process.
 * Positive globalists consider that globalisation brings considerable benefits by opening trading links which will improve living standards.
 * Pessimistic globalists criticise the disproportionate impact of large companies and question the extent to which globalisation brings equal benefits.
 * Sceptics believe that the case for globalisation has been overstated and argue that nation-states are the main forces that shape the global agenda.

History of globalisation
Various perspectives with regard to globalisation’s origins:
 * Cycles – globalisation is a long-term cyclical process; there have been other global ages
 * Epochs – six great epochs or “waves” of globalisation occurring sequentially
 * Events – specific, significant historical events (e.g. imperial wars of conquest, discoveries & technological developments) accelerated process of globalisation

Therborn’s (2000) six great epochs:
 * 4th-7th century: globalisation of religions (e.g. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism)
 * Late 15th century: European colonial conquests
 * Late 18th to early 19th century: intra-European wars
 * Mid 19th century to 1918: European imperialism
 * Post-World War II
 * Post-Cold War

Broader, more recent changes:
 * The emergence of the US as the global power in the years following WWII
 * The emergence of multinational corporations
 * The demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War
 * Transnational terrorism (?)

Drivers

 * Emergence of the global economic order
 * Developments in transport & communications
 * The rise of transnational corporations (TNCs)

Positive Impacts

 * Rapid post-WWII economic growth
 * Increased trade in goods and services
 * Movement of capital

Negative Impacts

 * Rising inequality (North-South divide)
 * Iniquitous distribution of income among countries
 * Widening income gaps within countries
 * Loss of autonomy in the pursuit of economic policies
 * Economic insecurity and volatility