SS1 The Contemporary World Module
SS1 The Contemporary World Module
SS1 The Contemporary World Module
Much has changed since time memorial. Human beings have encountered
many changes over the last century especially in their social relationships and social
structures. Of these changes, one can say that globalization is a very important
change, if not, the “most important” (Bauman, 2003). The reality and omnipresence
of globalization make us see ourselves as part of what we refer to as the “global age”
(Albrow, 1996). The Internet, for example, allows a person from the Philippines to
know what is happening to the rest of the world simply by browsing Google. The
mass media also allows for connections among people, communities, and countries
progress, development, and integration. On the one hand, some view globalization
things moving closer. It pertains to the increasing ease with which somebody on one
side of the world can interact, to mutual benefit with somebody on the other side of
the world”(p.9). On the other hand, some see it as occurring through and with
globalization as colonization.
concept, different metaphors will be used. These metaphors will also allow an
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appreciation of earlier epochs before globalization and the present globalized word.
globalization theories. The following section will highlight the different views scholars
Since its first appearance in the Webster’s Dictionary in 1961, many opinions
revealed that definitions could be classified as either (1) broad and inclusive or (2)
narrow and exclusive. The one offered by Ohmae in 1992 stated, “…globalization
means the onset of the borderless world…” (p.14). This is an example of a broad
and inclusive type of definition. If one uses such, it can include a variety of issues
that deal with overcoming traditional boundaries. However, it does not shed light on
Narrow and exclusive definitions are better justified but can be limiting, in the
sense that their application adhere to only particular definitions. Robert Cox’s
definition suits best in type: “the characteristics of the globalization trend include the
movements from South to North, the new competitive environment that accelerates
these processes, and the internationalizing of the state… making states into
shown in chronological order in the Appendix. Each could fall to either one of the two
types of definitions.
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No matter how one classifies a definition of globalization, the concept is
complex and multifaceted as the definitions deal with either economic, political, or
Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) in 2006, 67 of them refer to economic
dimension. These definitions include political and social dimensions as well. The
sheer number and complexity of definitions do not mean that there is a remarkable
argument about the issue. To him, the debate about what can be done about
globalization and what it is are similar. This is in relation to what some academics
the structures they encounter and create that are barriers to, or expedite those
flows…” (p.2). generally, this definition assumes that globalization could bring either
world, hindrances or structural blocks are also present. These blocks could slow
down one’s activity in another country or could even limit the places a person can
visit.
If so, why are we going to spend time studying this concept? How can we appreciate
Metaphors of Globalization
metaphors. Metaphors make use of one term to help us better understand another
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term. In our case, the states of matter – solid and liquid – will be used. In addition,
other related concepts that are included in the definition such as structures and flows
will be elaborated.
The epochs that preceded today’s globalization paved way for people, things,
information, and places to harden over time. Consequently, they have limited
mobility (Ritzer, 2015). The social relationships and objects remained where they
were created. Solidity also refers to barriers that prevent or make difficult the
Examples of natural solids are landforms and bodies of water. Man-made barriers
include the Great Wall of China and the Berlin Wall. An imaginary line such as the
nine-dash line used by the People’s Republic of China in their claim to the South
China Sea is an example of modern man-made solid. This creates limited access of
Filipino fishers to the South China Sea. Obviously, these examples still exist.
However, they have the tendency to melt. This should not be taken literally, like an
iceberg melting. Instead, this process involves how we can describe what is
Liquid, as a state of matter, takes the shape of its container. Moreover, liquids
are not fixed. Liquidity, therefore, refers to the increasing ease of movement of
Bauman’s ideas were the ones that have much to say about the characteristic of
liquidity. First, today’s liquid phenomena change quickly and their aspects, spatial
and temporal, are in continuous fluctuation. This means that space and time are
crucial elements of globalization. In global finance, for instance, changes in the stock
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market are a matter of seconds. Another characteristic of liquid phenomena is that
Facebook are unstoppable once they become viral. The so-called Internet
sensations become famous not only in their homeland but also to the entire world.
Finally, the forces (the liquid ones) made political boundaries more permeable to the
flow of people and things (Cartier, 2001). This brings us to what Ritzer (2015, p.6)
stands in its path (especially solids).” The clearest example is the decline, if not
Liquidity and solidity are in constant interaction. However, liquidity is the one
increasing and proliferating today. Therefore, the metaphor that could best describe
globalization is liquidity. Liquids do flow and this idea of flow (Appadurai, 1996; Rey
and Ritzer, 2010) will be the focus of the next discussion. Also, it should be expected
that this concept will appear in the succeeding lessons. The literature on
Flows
followed by the increase in liquidity. It is only logical to discuss the flows of liquid
phenomena. Flows are the movement of people, things, places, and information
brought by the growing “porosity” of global limitations (Ritzer, 2015). Think of the
different foreign cuisines being patronized and consumed by the Filipinos. Aside
from local dishes, many of us are fond of eating sushi, ramen, hamburger, and
French fries – foods introduced to us by foreign cultures. Clearly, foods are being
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(1) put it: “In global financial system, national boarders are porous.” This means that
a financial crisis in a given country can bring ramification to other regions of the
world. An example of which is the spread of the effects of American financial crisis
on Europe in 2008. The following are other kinds of flows that can be observed
today: poor illegal migrants flooding many parts of the world(Moses, 2006), the
virtual flow of legal and illegal information such as blogs and child pornography,
example is the Filipino communities abroad and the Chinese communities in the
Philippines.
Globalization Theories
globalization and the metaphors that we can use to understand easily the concept.
We have also looked into its origins and history. This section will give you a glimpse
the meantime, it would be helpful to assert that the theories see globalization as a
influences other cultures. For example, the dominant religion in our country is
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On the other hand, heterogeneity pertains to the creation of various cultural
elements from different societies in the world. Heterogeneity refers to the differences
him, as global forces interact with local factors or a specific geographic area, the
“glocal” is being produced. Economic issues are not exempted from heterogeneity.
happening in many economies around the world. The same goes with political
Ritzer (2008) mentioned, it refers to the political groups that are engage in an
globalization, the picture is not yet complete. The theories about globalization wil be
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Global flows of culture tend to move more easily around the globe than ever before,
especially through non-material digital forms. There are three perspectives on global
different and are only superficially affected by global flows. The interaction of
be a creative process which gives rise to hybrid entities that are not reducible
the global and local resulting in unique outcomes in different geographic area
while cultural imperialism happens when one culture imposes itself on and
current revival and the resurgence of the religion. Today, most religions are not
relegated to the countries where they began. Religions have, in fact, spread and
and thrive. As Scholte (2005) made clear: “Accelerated globalization of recent times
has enabled co-relegionists across the planet to have greater direct contact with one
another. The Global communications, global organizations, global finance, and the
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like have allowed ideas of the Muslims and the universal Christian church to be given
1980s and heightened after the end of the cold war in the 1990s. At first, it seems
that these two processes are contradicting – the very nature of globalization is, by
The regionalization of the world system and economic activity undermines the
potential benefits coming out from a liberalized global economy. This is because
regional organization prefers regional partners over the rest. Regional organizations
next question “Where did it start?” is not easy to answer as well because there are
different views about this. This book generally adheres to the perspective that the
major points of the beginnings of globalization started after the Second World War.
Hardwired
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According to Nayan Chanda (2007), it is because of our basic human need to
make our lives better that made globalization possible. Therefore, one can trace the
beginning of globalization from our ancestors in Africa who walked out form the said
continent in the late Ice Age. This long journey finally led them to all-known
Cycles
For some, globalization is a long-term cyclical process and thus, finding its
origin will be a daunting task. What is important is the cycles that globalization has
gone through (Scholte, 2005). Subscribing to this view will suggest adherence to the
idea that other global ages have appeared. There is also the notion to suspect that
Epoch
Ritzer (2015) cited therborn’s (2000) six great epochs of globalization. These are
also called “waves” and each has its own origin. Today’s globalization is not unique if
this is the case. The difference of this view from the second view (cycles) is that is
does not treat epochs as returning. The following are the sequential occurrence of
the epochs:
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Events
Specific events are also considered as part of the forth view in explaining the
origin of globalization. If this is the case, the several points can be treated as the
start of globalization. Gibbon (1998), for example, argued that Roman conquests
Recent changes comprised the fifth view. These broad changes happened in the
last half of the twentieth century. Scholars today point to these three notable
changes as the origin of globalization that we know today. They are as follows:
1. The emergence of the United States as the global power (post-World War II)
3. The demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War
Global Demography
and fertility rates decline from high to low levels in a particular country or region. The
stated, is “the enormous gap in life expectancy that emerged between Japan and the
West on the one hand and the rest of the world on the other” (p.251). By 1820, the
life expectancy at birth of Japan and the West was 12 years greater than that of
improvement in life expectancy all throughout the world in 1900-1650, the gap had
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reached 22 years. In 1999, the gap declined to 14 years. These differences in time of
Global Migration
The nuances of the movements of people around the world can be seen
Vagabonds are on the move “because they have to be” (Ritzer, 2015, p.179) – they
are not faring well in their home countries and are forced to move in the hope that
their circumstances will improve. Tourists, on the other hand, are on the move
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The United Nations (UN) tried to address the different problems in the world.
Their efforts were guided by the eight Millennium Development Goals, which they
created in the 1990s. Among these eight goals, the eradication of extreme poverty
and hunger ranked as the first. The other seven goals include: achieving universal
child mortality, improving maternal health, combating diseases like HIV/AIDS and
Since there are different standards of living around the world, we can expect
poverty if he makes less than 100,534 pesos a year, around 275 pesos a day. This is
called the poverty line or poverty threshold. But we are going to focus on extreme
deprivation of basic human needs including food, safe drinking water, sanitation
absolute poverty as living on less than 1.25 dollars a day. The organization aims to
international capital, and wide and rapid spread of technologies. It reflects the
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irreversible trend for the economic development in the whole world at the return of
comes in the form of quotas and tariffs. Tariffs are required fees on imports or
exports.
For instance, a pen that costs 1.00 dollars in Country A and Country B, it
would be given five-dollar tariff. The pen would become 6 dollars in Country B. This
policy was practiced during the mercantilist era, from sixteenth to seventeenth
centuries until the early years of the Industrial Revolution (Chorev, 2007). The Great
exists in the world economy despite the growth of trade liberation. Countries such as
China, Japan, and the United States are being accused of practicing protectionism
(Ritzer, 2015).
World War II heavily influenced the shifting of the dominant economic policy
from protectionism to trade liberalization or free trade. Free trade agreements and
services move around the world more easily than ever. We are talking about
everything from shoes and bananas innovations and ideas. Let us take mobile
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everything including reduce poverty. According to economist Jeffrey Sachs, mobile
phones are the “single most transformative technology” when it comes to the
developing world. Phones give people access to banking and payment systems and
better access to education and information. In some places, mobile phones help
farmers get information and get the best price for the crops they are producing.
Installing cellphone towers is also a lot cheaper than running thousands of kilometres
of telephone lines. Economists call this leapfrogging, the idea that countries can skip
straight to more efficient and cost-effective technologies that were not available in
the past. International trade has also created new opportunities for people to sell
There are some significant downsides to globalize trade and perhaps the
degree of which the earth’s resources can be used for our needs, even in the future.
Specifically, the development of our world today by using the earth’s resources and
the preservation of such sources for the future is called sustainable development.
economic growth and a sustainable environment (Borghesi and Vercelli, 2008). The
Environmental Degradation
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Development, especially economic development, was hastened by the
Industrial Revolution. This is the period in human history that made possible the
cycle of efficiency. Efficiency means finding the quickest possible way of producing
large amounts of a particular product. This process made buying of goods easier for
increased in efficiency. This cycle harms the planet in a number of ways. For
factories around the world. Another example is the destruction of coral reefs and
marine biodiversity as more and more wastes are thrown into the ocean. Many
experts do not think that the planet can sustain a growing global economy.
Deforestation, pollution, and climate change will not adjust for us, especially if
increases in living standards lead people to demand more consumer goods like cars,
Food Security
The demand for food will be 60% greater than it is today and the challenge of
food security requires the world to feed 9 billion people by 2050 (Breene, 2016).
Global food security means delivering sufficient food to the entire world population. It
is, therefore, a priority of all countries, whether developed or less developed. The
security of food also means the sustainability of society such as population growth,
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The Swedish statistician Hans Rosling once said. “The 1 to 2 billion poorest
people in the world who don’t have food for the day suffer from the worst disease,
outmaneuver their competitors. While you search for the cheapest place to buy
shoes, companies search for the cheapest place to make those shoes. They find the
cheapest sources of leather, dye, rubber, and of course, labor. The result is that
labor-intensive products like shoes are often produced in countries with the lowest
wages and weakest regulations. This process creates winners and losers. The
winners include corporations and their stockholders who earn more profit. They also
include consumers who get products at a cheaper price. The losers are high
wageworkers who used to make those shoes. Their jobs moved overseas. But what
about the low wage foreign workers? Are they winning or losing? A lot of workers
are thrown into hazardous working conditions but it is also true that many workers in
developing countries are at least making more money. These jobs pay above
average wages. People want these jobs and although the pay would be
unacceptable in developed countries, they are often the best alternative. This
multiplier effect means an increase in one economic activity can lead to an increase
in other economic activities. For instance, investing in local businesses will lead to
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Globalization and inequality are closely related. We can see how different
nations are divided between the North and the South, developed and less
developed, and the core and the periphery. These differences mainly reflect one key
are two main types of economic inequality: wealth inequality and income inequality.
Wealth refers to the net worth of a country. It takes into account all the assets of a
nation – may they be natural, physical, and human – less the liabilities. In other
words, wealth is the abundance of resources in a specific country. This means that
order to measure global inequality, economists usually look at income using the
Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Income is the new earnings that are constantly
being added to the pile of a country’s wealth. When we talk about income inequality,
we mean that new earnings are being distributed; it values the flow of goods and
You probably heard of “First World Problems.” When someone cracks the
screen on their phone or gets the wrong order at the coffee shop, and then goes on
to their social media accounts, you might see their complaints with a hashtag “First
World Problems.” What are the implications of talking about countries as First or
Third? Where did these terms come from? These terms are outdated and inaccurate
ways of talking about global stratification. How then are we going talk about global
stratification?
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Let us begin by deconstructing the idea of the First, Second, and Third World
hierarchy by looking at their origins and their implications. The terms date back to the
Cold War, when western policymakers began talking about the world as three
distinct political and economic blocks (Tomlinson, 2003). Western capitalist countries
were labelled as the “First World”. The Soviet Union at its allies were termed the
“Second World.” Everyone else was grouped into “Third World.” After the Cold War
ended, the category of the Second World countries become null and void, but
somehow the terms “First World” and “Third World” stuck around in the public
consciousness. Third World countries, which started as just a vague catchall term for
In addition to being outdated, these terms are also inaccurate. There are more
than 100 countries that fit the label of “Third World,” but they have vastly different
level of economic stability. Some are relatively poor, but many are not. For example,
lumping Botswana and Rwanda into the same category does not make much sense
because the average income per capita in Botswana is nine times larger than
Rwanda. Nowadays, social scientists sort countries into groups based on their
specific levels of economic productivity. To do this, they use the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP), which measures GDP per capita (Word Bank, n.d.).
the relations of agricultural production have been altered due to the rise of global
agribusiness and factory farms (McMicheal, 2007). In this scenario, the South
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produces non-traditional products for expert and become increasingly dependent on
industrialized food exports from the North. Consequently, this leads to a replacement
of the staple diet as well as the displacement of local farmers. Schlosser (2005)
pointed out that as commercial agriculture replaces local provisioning, the relations
of social production are also altered. Rural economies are exposed to low prices and
mass migration.
Sassen (1991) used the concept of global cities to describe the three urban
centers of New York, London, and Tokyo as economic centers that exert control over
the world’s political economy. World cities are categorized as such based on thr
global reach of organizations found in them. Not only are there inequalities between
these cities, there are also exists inequalities within each city (Beaverstock at al.,
2002). Alternatively, following Castells, (2000), these cities can be seen as important
For much of human history, all of the societies on earth were poor. Poverty
was the norm for everyone but obviously, that is not the case anymore. Just as you
find stratification among socioeconomic classes within a society like the Philippines,
you would also see across the world a pattern of global stratification with inequalities
in wealth and power between societies. So what made some parts of the world
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Modernization Theory
that contributed to Western Europe developing as a faster rate than much of the rest
of the world. The first event is known as the Columbian Exchange. This refers the
spread of goods, technology, education and diseases between the Americas and
contributed to the population growth and provided new opportunities for trade, while
also strengthening the power of the merchant class. The Columbian Exchange
worked out much less well, however, for Native Americans whose populations were
ravaged by the diseases brought from Europe. It is estimated that 150 years
following Columbus’s first trip, over 80% of the Native Americans population died
took place, as it always tends to, in four stages. First is the tradition stage. This
refers to societies that are structured around small, local communities with
production typically being done in family settings. Because the societies have limited
resources and technology, most of their time is spent on labouring to produce food,
which creates a strict social hierarchy. Examples of these are feudal Europe or early
Chinese dynasties. Tradition rules how a society functions: what your parents do is
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what their parents did, and what you will do when you grow up, too. But as people
begin to move beyond doing what has always been done, society moves to Rostow’s
second stage – the take-off stage. People begin to use their individual talents to
This innovation creates new markets for trade. In turn, greater individualism
takes hold and social status is more closely linked with material wealth. Next, nations
begin what Rostow called the drive to technological maturity, in which technological
growth of the earlier periods begins to bear fruit in the form of population growth,
reductions in absolute poverty levels, and more diverse job opportunities. Nations in
this phase typically begin to push for social change along with economic change, like
implementing basic schooling for everyone and developing more democratic political
systems. The last stage is known as high mass consumption. It is when your country
is big enough that production becomes more about wants and needs. Many of these
countries put social support systems in place to ensure that all of their citizens have
technologies, they will eventually raise production enough that there will be more
wealth to go around and overall well-being will go up. Furthermore, rich countries
can help other countries that are still growing by exporting their technologies and
foreign aid.
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Starting in the 1500s, European explorers spread throughout the Americas,
Africa, and Asia, claiming lands for Europe. At one point, the British Empire covered
about one-fourth of the world. The United States, which began as colonies, soon
sprawled out through the North America and took control of Haiti, Puerto Rico,
Guam, and Philippines, the Hawaiian Islands, and parts of Panama and Cuba. With
colonialism came the exploitation of both natural and human resources. The
transatlantic slave trade followed a triangular route between Africa, the America and
Caribbean colonies, and Europe. Guns and factory-made goods were sent to Africa
in exchange of slaves, who were sent to the colonies to produce goods like cotton
and tobacco, which were then sent back to Europe. As the slave trade died down in
the mid-nineteenth century, the point of colonialism came to be less about human
However, the colonial model kept going strong. In 1870, only 10% of Africa
was colonized. By 1940, only Ethiopia and Liberia were not colonized. Under colonial
regimes, European countries took control of land and raw materials to funnel wealth
back to the West. Most colonies lasted until the 1960s and the last British colony,
Dependency theory was initially developed by Hans Singer and Raul Prebisch
in the 1950s and has been improved since then. The two main sub-theories are the
North American Neo-Marxist approach and the Latin American structuralist approach
(Sanchez, 2014). The term “core nations” and “peripheral nations” are at the heart of
the dependency theory. Peripheral nations are countries that are less developed and
receive an unequal distribution of the world’s wealth. Core countries, on the other
hand, are more industrialized nations who receive the majority of the world’s wealth.
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Although generally divided into core or peripheral, dependency theorists recognize
that there are a number of different kinds of states in the world (Grosoguel, 2000).
Another common assumption of the theory is that “even after de-colonization, there
are still important ties between the developed and less developed countries, which
model of what he called the capitalist world economy. Wallerstein described high-
income nations as the “core” of the world economy. This core is the manufacturing
base of the planet where resources funnel in to become the technology and wealth
Wellerstein called the “periphery,” whose natural resources and labor support the
Brazil, are considered the semi-periphery due to their closer ties to the global
economic core.
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The social institution that has one of the biggest impacts on society is the
unemployed, gross domestic product (GDP), or whatever the stock market is doing
today. While we often talk about it in numerical terms, the economy is composed of
people. It is the social instituti9on that organizes all production, consumption, and
trade of goods in the society. There are many ways in which products can be made,
exchange and used. Think about capitalism and socialism. This economic system –
and the economic revolutions that created them – shape the way people live their
lives.
reflected in the phrase “when the American sneezes, the rest of the world catches a
cold.” But it is important to remember that it is not only the economy of the United
States but also other economies in the world that have a significant impact on the
global market and finance. For instance, the financial crises experienced by Russia
and Asia affected the world economy. The strength of a more powerful economy
brings greater effect on other countries. In the same manner, crises on weaker
economies have less effect on other countries. For example, Argentina’s serious
financial crisis in the late 1990s and early 2000s had a comparatively small impact
Although countries are heavily affected by the gains and crises in the world
economy, the organizations that they consist also contribute to these events. The
following are the financial institutions and economic organization that made countries
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The Bretton Woods System
In general, the Bretton Woods system has five key elements. First element is
the expression of currency in terms of gold or gold value to establish a par value
(Boughton, 2007). For instance, a 35 U.S. dollar pegged by the United States per
ounce of gold is the same as 175 Nicaraguan Cordobas per ounce of gold. The
exchange therefore would be 5 Cordobas for 1 dollar. Another element is that “ the
official monetary authority in each country ( a central bank or its equivalent) would
agree to exchange its own currency for those of other countries at the established
exchange rates, plus or minus a one – percent margin” (Boughton, 2007, pp. 106-
107). The third element of the Bretton Woods system is the establishment of an
overseer for these exchange rates; thus, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was
trade is the fourth key element. The final element is that the U.S. dollar became the
global currency.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade
Organization (WTO)
According to Peet (2003), global trade and finance was greatly affected by the
Bretton Woods system. One of the systems born out of Bretton Woods was the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that was established in 1947
(Goldstein et al., 2007). GATT was a forum for the meeting of representatives from
Uruguay Round (1986-1993) that an agreement was reached to create the World
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The WTO headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland with 152 member
multilateral organization that became responsible for trade and services, non-tariffs-
related barriers to trade, and other broader areas of trade liberalization. An example
cited by Ritzer (2015) was that of the “differences between nations in relation to
task for such regulations if they are deemed to be an unfair restraint on the trade in
such items” (p.61). The general idea where the WTO is based was that of
neoliberalism. This means that by reducing or eliminating barriers, all nations will
benefit.
IMF and the World Bank were founded after the World War II. Their
establishment was mainly because of peace advocacy after the war. IMF and World
Bank were designed to complement each other. The IMF’s main goal was to help
countries which were in trouble at that time and who could not obtain money by any
means. Perhaps, their economy collapse or their currency was threatened. IMF, in
this case, served as a lender or a last resort for countries which needed financial
assistance. For instance, Yemen loaned 93 million dollar from IMF from April 5, 2012
to address its struggle with terrorism. The World Bank, in comparison, had a more
long-term approach. Its main goals revolved around the eradication of poverty and it
funded specific projects that helped them reach their goal, especially in poor
these institutions has been dwindling, mainly due to practices such as lending the
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corrupt government or even dictators and imposing ineffective austerity measures to
Union (EU)
The most encompassing club of the richest countries in the world is the
member states as of 2016, with Latvia as its latest member. It is highly influential,
despite the group having little formal power. This emanates from the member
In 1960, the OPEC was originally comprised of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait,
Iran, and Venezuela. They are still part of the major exporter of oil in the world today.
OPEC was formed because member countries wanted to increase the price of oil,
which in the past had a relatively low price and had failed in keeping up with inflation.
Today, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Libya, Qatar, Nigeria and Indonesia are
adopted the euro as basic currency but some Western European nations like the
Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark did not. Critics argue that the euro increased
the prices in Eurozone and resulted in depressed economic growth rates, like in
Greece, Spain and Portugal. The policies of the European Central Bank are
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The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a trade pact between
the United States, Mexico and Canada created on January 1, 1994 when Mexico
joined the 2 other nations. It was first created in 1989 with only Canada and the US
Before the rise of today’s modern economy, people only produced for their
family. Nowadays, economy demands the different sectors to work together in order
to produce, distribute, and exchange products and services. What caused this shift in
the way people produce for their needs? In order to understand this, we will be going
The first big economic change was the Agricultural Revolution (Pomeranz,
2000). When people learned how to domesticate plants and animals, they realized
that it was much more productive than hunter-gatherer societies. This became the
new agricultural economy. Farming helped societies build surpluses, meaning, not
everyone had to spend their time producing food. This, in turn, led to major
1800s. With the rise of industry came new economic tools, like steam engines,
manufacturing and mass production. Factories popped up and changed how work
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function. Instead of working at home where people worked for their family by making
things from start to finish, they began working as wage laborers and then becoming
more specialized in their skills. Overall, productivity went up, standards of living rose,
and people had access to a wider variety of goods due to mass production.
There were two competing economic models that sprung up around the time of
the industrial revolution, as economic capital became more and more important to
competition as the main drivers of efficiency. This means that one owns a
by the government and allocated to all citizens, not only those with the money
work for the common good and placing a higher value on meeting everyone’s
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Ours is the time of the information revolution. Technology has reduced the
role of human labor and shifted it from a manufacturing-based economy to one that
is based on service work and the production of ideas rather than goods. This has
had a lot of residual effect on our economy. Computers and other technologies are
We also see the decline in union membership. Nowadays, most unions are for public
ones were a massive part of the Philippine labor force, have fallen drastically over
the last century. In other countries such as US, manufacturing jobs which were the
lifeblood of their economy foy much of the 20 th century, have declined in the last 30
years. The U. S. economy began with their many workers serving in either the
primary or secondary sectors. But today, much of their economy is centered on the
Global Corporations
Then increase of international trade has both created and been supported by
international regulatory groups, like WTO, and transnational trade agreement, like
NAFTA. There is not a single country that is completely independent. All are
dependent to some degree on international trade for their own prosperity. Without
Without the international regulatory groups, international trade at the current massive
scale would be impractical. The trade regulatory group agreements regulate the flow
of goods and services between countries. They reduce tariffs, which are taxes on
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imports, and may customs procedures easier. This makes trading across national
most. Companies can produce their goods and services across many different
countries. For instance, you can have a backpack that was designed in the United
States but the materials came from China, and it was put together in Mexico before it
International trade and global corporations, along with the internet and more
their own beliefs, their traditions, and their money with them when they interact with
other countries. These ideas and capital can then be incorporated in other countries,
and thus, change the cultures and economies of these foreign nations.
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The state has traditionally been the subject of most interest to scholars of
global politics because it is viewed as “the institution that creates warfare and sets
economic policies for a country.” Furthermore the state is a political unit that has
authority over its own affairs. In other words, its borders are recognized by other
countries. It is assumed that whoever is in charge of those borders has the right to
determine exactly what is going to happen in their country. The treaty of West Phalia
of 1648 established the notion of the nation-state and the idea of states sovereignty.
Today, the globalization of politics created an atmosphere where the ideas of the
nation-state, state sovereignty, government control, and state policies are challenged
state and that other actors are actually becoming more powerful. These actors
include multinational corporations and global civil society organizations, like the Red
governance. The first on the list must be the declining power of nation-states. If
states themselves were “highly contingent and in flux” (Cerny, 2007, p. 854), it would
open the possibility of the emergence of some form of global governance to fill the
void.
A second factor is the vast flows of all sorts of things that run into and often
right through the borders of nation-state. This could involve the flow of digital
information of all sorts through the internet. It is difficult, if not impossible for a nation-
state to stop such flow and in any case, it is likely that such action would be
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politically unpopular and bring much negative reaction to the nation-state involved in
such an effort. For example, China’s periodic efforts to interfere with the Internet
Then, there is mass migration of people and their entry, often illegally, into
various nation-states. Is states are unable to control this flow, then there is a need
for some sort of global governance to help deal with the problem. The flow of
criminal elements, as well as their products (drugs, laundered money, those bought
and sold in sex trafficking, etc.), is a strong factor in the call for global governance
(Levy and Sznaider, 2006). In these cases and others, there is a need for some
degree o0f order, some sort of effective authority, and at least some potential for the
improvement of human life. These are but a few of the things that can be delivered
of people who have the ultimate authority to act on behalf of a state. Each state has
its own right to self-determination and that other country should not intervene in the
affairs of that state unless there are extraordinary reasons to do so. Other countries
must recognize sovereignty or the right to govern one’s own territorial border. Each
state is autonomous unto itself and responsible within its own system of government
to those who are governed. The decisions, the conflict, and the resolution of that
conflict are done through the institutions of government established and codified in
democratic society, provide the leadership of the state. In addition, the policy is
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government. A civil society within a state can also act as a counterweight or as a
organization.
Traditional Challenges
countries. For example, when Saddam Hussein was the ruler of Iraq in 1990, he
decided he was going to take over the oil fields of Kuwait. He invaded Kuwait and
United States.
These days, we can see external intervention in other forms. Russia’ external
the affairs of people in Crimea who want to become part of Russia again even
though they are part of Ukraine. Crimea declared its independence from Ukraine and
re-affiliated with Russia. This is a case of how there might be a national identity of a
autonomy to determine the case for Crimea. As a result, there is current conflict
between Ukraine, not recognizing Crimea sovereignty and Russia, not recognizing
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The next challenges are part of a national identity or movement. It is important
to know that a nation has cultural identity that people attached to, while a state is a
definite entity due to its specific boundaries. However, different people with different
identities can live in different states. For example, the Kurds reside in several
different countries including Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. The Catalans live primarily in
Spain but we can also find some of them in France. Scottish nationalism is another
example that challenges the traditional notions of state sovereignty. In 2014, Great
Britain had a vote in Scotland to decide whether Scotland was going to become its
own autonomous state apart from Great Britain. They voted against it but Scotland
has a significant degree of autonomy now as compared to more than two decades
years ago.
Global Economics
The third major source of challenge comes from global economics. Global
economy demands the states that conform to the rules of free-market capitalism.
across countries, such as WTO and regional agreements, such as NAFTA, the
European Union (EU), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
trade and dismantling trade barriers. It made sure that governments did not impose
and jobs. Free trade was seen as the ideal or the normative belief, that is, the best
economy is one where there is free trade everywhere. Laws and standards that
would interfere with the flow of capital in a particular country, including environmental
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requires a state to cooperate in the global market through the free flow of capital, the
threat, in general, because a state cannot protect its own economic interest as a
sovereign state.
Finally, we have global social movements. Most of the time, they are not seen
as a threat but they definitely challenge state sovereignty. Social movements are
which means they occur across countries and across borders. Therefore, states
The state is a distinctive political community with its own set of rules and
practices and that is more or less separate from other communities. It has four
elements: people, territory, government, and sovereignty. The first element of a state
is a permanent population. This population does not refer to a nomadic people that
move from one place to another in an definite time. This permanent presence in one
territory has clear boundaries. A territory is effectively controlled by the third element,
government. The government regulates relations among its own people and with
other states. This means that the state is formally constituted sovereign political
structure encompassing people, territory, and its institutions on the one hand, and
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It is important to differentiate the idea of nation from state. Nation refers to a
collective identity rounded on a notion of shared history and cultures. If we talk about
the Philippines as a state, we may refer to the Philippine government, the Philippine
territory, and its internal and external sovereignty. If we talk about the Philippines as
a nation, we refer to our shared collective notion of democracy, or history, and our
collective identity. In other words, the state is a political concept, while a nation is a
cultural concept. States, through its formalized institutions, more or less reflect
nations. This would allow states to have a certain people with their own collective
identity. In turn, they should be allowed to form their own political state. This is the
the world and individuals participate in. These include the United Nations, the
international Court of Justice, NAFTA, and NATO. There are also non-governmental
organizations promoting social and economic growth. Let us look at them one by
one.
people, and countries when you encounter the word “globalization”. However, when
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compared to the term “globalism”, globalization would be better described as the
“increase or decline in the degree of globalism” (Nye, 2002, p. 1). What is the
of different countries in the world. In other words, the links among countries and
people are better associated with globalism while the speed in which they become
linked with one another is globalization. We can also differentiate globalism and
thicker, globalization happens. This means that being able to connect countries in
Informationalism
2004). These are technology, the media, and the internet. This is not to say that we
do not need to produce material goods such as factories, clothes, and food; rather,
central in the contemporary world (Hardt & Negri, 2000). This is due to the “three of
the most cutting-edge aspects of the social world in general and globalization in
Global Citizenship
Citizenship is associated with rights and obligations, for instance, the right to
vote and the obligation to pay taxes. Both rights and obligations link the individual to
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the state. It also has to do with our attitudes. We need to be willing to engage and to
spend time and effort to the community in which we feel part of. Community has
traditionally been regarded as something very local. How, then, can the idea of
single phenomenon; rather, there are many globalizations. While some need to be
resisted others are welcomed and should be encouraged. They are bound to be
because according to one broad view, globalization failed to deliver its promises
(Cohen, 2006). The so-called bottom billion lacks infrastructures and has been
global capitalism. Thus, the enemy resist globalization, especially when it comes to
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Aldama, P.K.R., (2018). The comntemporary world. Sampaloc, Manila: Rex Book
Store, INC.
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Albrow, M. (1996). The glolbal age. Cambridge: Plity
Beland, D. (2008). States of global insecurity:Politics and Society. New York: Worth.
Gibbon, E. (1998). The history of the decline and fall of Roman Empire. London:
Wordsworth.
Moses J.W. (2006). International migration: Globalization’s last frontier. London: Zed
Books.
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