1

CHAPTER

Globalization and
Global Governance

Overview

This chapter presents discourses about globalization and its effects

on governments, the roles of international organizations in addressing the
challenges of global governance in the 21st century, and the global divide as
important phenomenon in the process of international integration.

Objectives

At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Present a working definition of globalization.
2. Describe the international system and explain how it operates.
3. Analyze how globalization affects governance and global relations.

Bridging Learning Opportunities

A. Globalization in the News

Form a trio and together clip news articles about globalization from old
newspapers. Share your perceptions about what you have read with one another
and categorize them as positive and negative. In class, explain your group’s
shared perceptions.
B. International Organizations in Action
Identify at least two International Organizations (IO). Read and study carefully
the IO’s mission, vision, goal, and programs/activities. Prepare a short oral
presentation about what you have discovered and learned.
C. United Nations as a Global Governance Actor
Download and read the UN Charter.
D. #1stWorldProblems vs. #3rdWorldProblems
Using a Meta card provided by your Learning Facilitator, kindly write what to
you is the most pressing global problem. Strictly one global problem or idea per
Meta card. Paste the cards on the wall and classify them as first or third world
problem or both.

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Chapter 1: Globalization and Global Governance

Globalization
Globalization, perhaps for most of us, has become a household term that we
often hear of, but we cannot properly define. According to Reich (1998), globalization
is commonly used and has even become a household name but its meaning remains
obscure, even among scholars or among those who personally invoke it. The truth
of the matter is that there are different and multiple definitions of globalization. The
problem with globalization is that it is not much an “it” as a “them”; it is not a single
process but a complex of processes, sometimes overlapping and interlocking and
oppositional ones (Heywood, 2002).
In the study of the contemporary world, learners examine the multifaceted
phenomenon of globalization. Although definitions of globalization are highly
contested, it is imperative to study several conceptualizations of globalization and to
come up with a working definition that would assist learners in examining economic,
social, political, and technological transformations, among others, that have created
an increasing awareness of the interconnectedness of people and places around
the globe. Several relevant definitions would hopefully
assist learners in understanding and appreciating what
Fun Facts
globalization is (see Table 1.1). The intention is neither
to promote nor discredit globalization but to facilitate
a discourse that could encourage learners to examine Theodore Levitt
its effects and implications carefully in this globalized coined the term
state of the world. globalization. He was
credited for using
The globalized state of the world or globality
the terminology to
signifies a social condition characterized by the
refer to the spread of
existence of global economic, political, cultural, and corporations in the
environmental interconnections and flows that make contemporary world.
many of the currently existing borders and boundaries
irrelevant (Steger, 2013). Globalization has inherent Source:
advantages and disadvantages. We have to establish at AFP. (2009, November
the onset that it carries with it both opportunities and 5). Going global. The
Economist. Retrieved from
threats. We are not just citizens of our respective states; https://www.economist.
we are citizens of the world. It becomes imperative com/news/14816758-
then to be conscious and mindful about this ongoing articles-mentioning-
globalisation-economist-
movement so that we can carefully scrutinize the going-global
available alternatives and take responsibility over these
choices.

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 The Contemporary World

“Globalization encompasses many trends, including

expanded international trade, monetary coordination,
multinational corporations, telecommunications, technical
Goldstein (2009) and scientific cooperation, cultural exchanges of new types
and scales, migration and refugee flows, and relations
between world’s rich and poor countries and between
human beings and the natural environment.”
“The inexorable integration of markets, nation-states and
technologies to a degree never witness before in a way that
Friedman (1999) is enabling individuals, corporations and nation-states to
reach around the world farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper
than ever before.”
“Globalization is defined as the unprecedented new world
state, a special phase of the world history that is already
Kiss, Endre (2013)
perceptible but that started ultimately in its mature form in
1989 with the retreat of communism.”
“Globalization is the emergence of a complex web of
interconnectedness that means that our lives are increasingly
shaped by events that occur, and decisions that are made, at
Heywood (2014)
a great distance from us. Distinction are commonly drawn
between economic globalization, cultural globalization and
political globalization.”
“Globalization is a transplanetary process or set of processes
involving increasing liquidity and growing multidirectional
Ritzer & Dean (2015) flows of people, objects, places, and information as well as
the structures they encounter and create that are barriers to,
or expedite those flows.”
Table 1.1 Definitions of Globalization
From the definitions in Table 1.1, we can draw out and identify common themes
about globalization as suggested by Steger (2013).

Theme 1: Globalization involves the creation of new and the multiplication

of existing social networks and activities that increasingly overcome traditional
political, economic, cultural, and geographical boundaries.
Theme 2: Globalization is reflected in the expansion and stretching of social
relations, activities, and interdependencies.
Theme 3: Globalization involves the intensification and acceleration of social
exchanges and activities.

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Chapter 1: Globalization and Global Governance

Theme 4: Globalization processes also involve the subjective plane of human

consciousness (Robertson, 1992) since the creation, expansion, and intensification of
social interconnections and interdependencies do not occur merely on an objective,
material level.

Globalization then “refers to a multidimensional set of social processes that

create, multiply, stretch, and intensify worldwide social interdependencies and
exchanges while at the same time fostering in people a growing awareness of
deepening connections between the local and the distant” (Steger, 2013, p13).
Described in basic terms, Steger (2013) opines that “globalization refers to the
expansions and intensification of social relations and consciousness across world-
time and world space.”
There are at least three competing conceptualizations of globalization
(Goldstein & Pevehouse, 2009). The first one posits that globalization is the fruition
of liberal economic policies wherein growth and prosperity were brought about by
the global marketplace. It has made traditional states irrelevant as economic units
because supranational institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
the European Union (EU), and other transnational actors (Multi-National Companies
and Non-Government Organizations), have taken over the market. The second,
which points a more critical view, argues that the world’s major economies are
no more integrated today than they were before World War 1. The skeptics do not
subscribe to the idea that regional and geographic distinctions, such as the North-
South divide, are disappearing in favor of a single global market. Instead, the North-
South divide is increasing with globalization. Lastly, the transformationalist school
of thought argues that globalization is diffusing authority as state power is not so
much strengthened or weakened by globalization, but it is transformed to operate
in new contexts with new tools.
Globalization is multidimensional. Students of globalization must take note of
this very important characteristic. Steger (2013) uses the ancient Buddhist parable
of blind scholars and their encounter with the elephant to expound the various
dimensions of globalization, as well as to present further areas of contestation:
Since the blind scholars did not know what the elephant looked like, they
resolved to obtain a mental picture, and thus the knowledge they desired,
by touching the animal. Feeling its trunk, one blind man argued that the
elephant was like a lively snake. Another man, rubbing along its enormous
leg, likened the animal to a rough column of massive proportions. The third
person took hold of its tail and insisted that the elephant resembled a large,
flexible brush. The fourth man felt its sharp tusks and declared it to be like
a great spear. Each of the blind scholars held firmly to his own idea of what
constituted an elephant. Since their scholarly reputation was riding on the

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 The Contemporary World

veracity of their respective findings, the blind men eventually ended up

arguing over the true nature of the elephant. (Steger, 2013, p.14)

The ongoing academic quarrel over which dimension contains the essence
of globalization represents a postmodern version of the parable of the blind men
and the elephant (Steger, 2013). It is a direct reaction to one of the most popular
misconceptions about globalization being purely economic in scope and effect. To
understand what an elephant truly is, one needs to get a grasp of the big picture and
acquire an overall sense of a given situation. Similarly, there is a need to utilize various
disciplines of the social sciences (economic, political, cultural, social, technological,
etc.) to get the whole picture of globalization. By embracing an interdisciplinary
approach, we are prevented from oversimplifying or reducing globalization into
a single dimension which corresponds to only one specific field (Steger, 2013).
Globalization then is a very complex phenomenon.

The International System

The international system refers to “the set of relationships among the world
states structured according to certain rules and patterns of interaction” (Goldstein &
Pevehouse, 2014, p.13). A state is “a community of persons more or less numerous,
permanently occupying a definite portion of the territory, having a government of
their own to which a great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience, and is
enjoying freedom from external control” (Rodee, 1976, p.4). In accordance with the
Montevideo Convention of 1933, a state must have the following de facto elements
to be considered a state: 1) people, 2) territory, 3) government, and 4) sovereignty.
This is the Declarative Theory. There is, however, another school of thought, the
Constitutive Theory, which postulates for two additional elements: 5) recognition by
other states and 6) degree of civilizations.
Although states are considered principal actors in international relations
(IR), nonstate actors have been recognized as global actors as well based on their
influences and important roles in the international system. Nonstate actors, which
are also referred to as transnational actors when operating across international
borders, include intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs), among others. IGOs
have national governments as members, individuals and groups for NGOs, and
companies that span borders for MNCs. Other nonstate actors refer to individuals,
cities, constituencies, etc. The international system is the arena where state and non-
state actors relate to each other (Almond & Powell, 1988).
A political system is defined as a set of institutions and agencies concerned with
formulating and implementing the collective goals of society or of organs within
it (Almond & Powell, 1988). The system exists in both domestic and international

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Chapter 1: Globalization and Global Governance

environments, which mold the system and vice versa. Also, it receives inputs of
demands and support from the environments and attempts to shape them through
its output. The following broad functions are depicted in Almond and Powell’s model
of the Political System:
1. The system function determines the inputs through socialization, recruitment,
and communication. These three processes are concerned with the maintenance of
an entire system.
2. The process function is where collective decisions are made and implemented
through interest articulation, interest aggregation, policy making, and policy
implementation and adjudication.
3. The output function treats the output through the processes of policy
extraction, regulation, and distribution.
Aside from the system function,
Almond and Powell’s (1988) the feedback mechanism provides
Functions of the Political Systems: additional inputs to the political system.
Definition of Terms Globalization is an “intensification
1. Political socialization of cross-border interactions and
Attitudes to the political system interdependence between states”(Baylis,
must be formed and sustained. 2001). It influences both domestic and
2. Political recruitment external environments. Events occurring
People must be recruited to fill outside the domestic environment are
out political roles from voters far more likely to have an effect on the
to government leaders. external environment, and vice versa.
3. Political communication
Globalization has certainly brought
Politically relevant information
about significant transformation in the
must be transmitted.
international system. Relationships
4. Interest articulation
Demands for particular policies between individual states change
must be expressed. significantly, moving towards integration
5. Interest aggregation in an international system by becoming
Demands must be selected and more dependent on each other.
combined into manageable From a realist or power politics’
number of major alternatives. perspective, the international system
6. Policy making operates in a state of anarchy. However,
Demands must be converted it must be operationalized not to mean
into authoritative decisions “complete chaos” or “absence of rules
and policies. and structures,” but rather simply “the
7. Policy implementation absence of a central government that
These decisions must be put can craft, enforce, or adjudicate laws.”
into effect. Anarchy is jaggedly allocated in the
international system as evidenced

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 The Contemporary World

by islands of order and cooperation. International relations orbit around one key
concern: the collective goods problem. As expounded clearly by Goldstein and
Pevehouse (2014),

The collective goods problem occurs in all groups and societies but is
particularly acute in international affairs because each nation is sovereign,
with no central authority such as world government to enforce on individual
nations the necessary measures to provide for the common good. By contrast,
in domestic politics within countries, a government can force individuals to
contribute in ways that do not serve their individual self-interests, such as
by paying taxes or paying to install antipollution equipment on vehicles and
factories. If individuals do not comply, the government can punish them.
(Goldstein & Pevehouse, 2014, p.5)

The collective goods problem is a problem of shared interests versus conflicting

interests among members of a group and of how to provide something that benefits
all members of a group regardless of what each contributes. Simply put, the problem
is how to “encourage” states to cooperate for the common good without a central
authority who would oblige them to cooperate. The collective goods problem can
be addressed by applying three basic principles of international relations (Goldstein
& Pevehouse, 2014).

Core Principles Ways of Solving Collective Goods Problem

Establishing a power hierarchy in which those at the top
Dominance principle
control the ones below
Rewarding a behavior that contributes to the group and
Reciprocity principle punishing a behavior that pursues self-interest at the
expense of the other group
Highlighting the identities of participants who care
Identity principle about the interests of others in the community enough
to sacrifice their own interests to benefit the others
Table 1.2 Core Principles for Solving Collective Goods Problem
In theory, all states are equally sovereign, meaning they answer to no higher
authority. Furthermore, because of state sovereignty, citizens cannot have one-
world or global government. However, from the perspectives of liberalism and
institutionalism, which sees the nature of world politics as potentially cooperative
and reinforced by the presence of institutions, cooperation is possible under a
system of anarchy. The interdependence of states generates incentives to cooperate
and promote global governance.

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Chapter 1: Globalization and Global Governance

Global Governance
There is a whale of difference between global government and global
governance. At the global level, san an authority with hierarchical powers, there is
no global government. On the other hand, global governance is doable. It denotes
purposeful systems of rule-based order or norm without the government. It is a
much broader term that denotes the sum of laws, norms, policies, and institutions
that define, constitute, and mediate transborder relations between states, cultures,
citizens, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, and the market—
the wielders and the object of the exercise of international public power (Weiss,
2014).

The United Nations

The United Nations (UN) is the personification of global governance. It is far
from being an ideal international organization or bureaucracy, but it remains the
embodiment of the international community of states, the focus of international
expectations, and the locus of collective action as the symbol of an imagined and
constructed community of strangers (Weiss & Thakur, 2014). According to Weiss
and Thakur (2014), there is no easily identifiable “center” or “periphery” in terms of
authority, but the UN system with universal state membership and mechanisms for
involving nonstate actors comes as close as a central clearing house for information
and action. The UN is certainly a very important global governance actor.

UN Trivia
1. The United Nations have a world celebration day! It has been observed on
the 24th of October since 1948.
2. The presidency of the General Assembly rotates among five groups of member
states:  African, Asian, Eastern European, Latin American/Caribbean, and
Western European.
3. The United Nations is an international organization created to  maintain
international peace and promote human rights.
4. It was founded in 1945 after the Second World War.
5. The U.N. is best known for peacekeeping, peace building, conflict prevention,
and humanitarian assistance.
6. The U.N. began with 51 countries and is now comprised of 193 member states.
7. The U.N. reaches virtually every corner of the world.
8. They protect human rights through 80 different treaties and declarations.
9. They work with 140 nations to combat climate change.
10. One of their primary goals is to develop friendly relations.

https://www.uselessdaily.com/world/united-nations-trivia-10-facts-about-the-
intergovernmental-organization/#ixzz5J0a90ghD 

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 The Contemporary World

The founding charter of the UN was signed on June 26, 1945, in San Francisco
during the UN Conference on International Organization, and it came to force on
October 24, 1945. It guides the mission and work of the organization, which are
based on the following principles:
1. States are equal under international law.
2. They have full sovereignty over their own affairs.
3. They should have full independence and territorial integrity.
4. They should carry out their internal obligations, such as respecting
diplomatic privileges, refraining from committing aggression, and observing the
terms of treaties they sign.
The Philippines was actually among the 51 original member states who signed
the 1942 UN Declaration. This Declaration eventually served as the basis of the 1945
UN Charter.
The UN is composed of six principal organs which are all established during
its founding year. These are 1) the General Assembly, 2) the Security Council, 3) the
Economic and Social Council, 4) Trusteeship Council, 5) the International Court of
Justice, and 6) the Secretariat (Article 7, Chapter III, UN Charter).
The UN’s structure, as shown in figure 1, centers on the General Assembly.
According to the UN Charter, “the General Assembly shall consist of all the Members
of the UN” (Article 9, Chapter IV, UN Charter) and is considered to be “the main
deliberative, policy making, and representative organ of the UN” (Chapter IV, UN
Charter). It is the venue where “decisions on important questions such as those on
peace and security, admission of new member, and budgetary matters” take place.
These questions require two-thirds vote while decisions on other matters require
only a simple majority vote. All 193 sovereign member states, in theory and in
practice, have equal representation in the UN General Assembly each being afforded
with one vote and are all obligated to comply with the UN Security Council decisions.

Figure 1 Structure of the United Nations via Wikimedia Commons

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Chapter 1: Globalization and Global Governance

The Security Council, under the UN Charter, “has primary responsibility for the
maintenance of international peace and security” (Chapter V, UN Charter). This is
one of the most important organs, if not the most important and powerful organ
of the UN. It is composed of 15 members and similar to the UN General Assembly,
each is entitled to one vote: 5 are deemed to be the permanent members while the
remaining 10 are considered to be non-permanent members elected for two-year
terms by the General Assembly. 1) China, 2) France, 3) Russia, 4) the United Kingdom,
and the 5) United States are the permanent members. The following are the 10
non-permanent members with end of term year: 1) Belgium (2020), 2) Dominican
Republic (2020), 3) Germany (2020), 4) Indonesia (2020), 5) South Africa (2020), 6)
Cote d’Ivoire (2019), 7) Equatorial Guinea (2019), 8) Kuwait (2019), 9) Peru (2019), and
10) Poland (2019). The Philippines has been elected as a non-permanent member
before. In fact, Carlos P. Romulo has served as President of the UN Security Council.
He was also the 1st Asian to serve as President of the 4th Session of the UN General
Assembly. According to the UN Charter, the Security Council performs the following:
1) takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of
aggression, 2) calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means, 3)
recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement, 4) imposes sanctions or
authorizes the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security, 5)
recommends to the General Assembly the appointment of Secretary-General as well
as the admissions of new Members to the United Nations, and 6) elects, together
with the General Assembly, the judges of the International Court of Justice. The
Security Council may also exercise its “veto power,” which pertains to the permanent
members’ power to veto on any critical UN resolutions. Some critics consider the
“veto power” as contradictory to the principle of equality among member states.
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the center and prime mover of
the UN development system. It is expected to conduct relevant and critical analysis
on issues and concerns pertaining to sustainable development. As clearly provided
in the UN Charter, it is “the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy
dialogue, and recommendations on social and environmental issues, as well as
the implementation of internationally agreed development goals” (Chapter X, UN
Charter). In this manner, the ECOSOC promotes and advances a collective action
towards a sustainable world.
The Trusteeship Council is anchored on UN’s international trusteeship system. The
UN Charter provides that “the UN shall establish under its authority an international
trusteeship system for the administration and supervision of such territories as may
be placed thereunder by subsequent individual agreements” (Article 75, Chapter XII,
UN Charter). This UN organ is, however, currently inactive. It has suspended all its
operations after the independence of the last remaining UN trust territory, Palau.

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 The Contemporary World

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is UN’s “principal judicial organ” (Article
92, Chapter XIV, UN Charter) which resolves legal conflicts between and among
member states. It is also expected to render advisory opinions, when necessary, to
UN organs. Only states, not individuals or businesses, can sue or be sued before the
ICJ. The ICJ must not be confused with the International Criminal Court (ICC) which
hears cases of war crimes, genocide, and other forms of offense against humanity
from anywhere in the world. It operates under the principle of universal jurisdiction,
which means that the court can prosecute individuals of any state. Under the ICC,
individuals, including heads of state, can be prosecuted for their roles in violations of
human rights (Goldstein & Pevehouse, 2009).
The Secretariat is composed of the Secretary-General and such staff as the
Organization may require. According to the UN Charter, the Secretary-General shall
be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security
Council” (Article 97, Chapter XV, UN Charter). As the chief administrative officer of the
UN, “he/she shall act in that capacity in all meetings of the General Assembly, of the
Security Council, of the Economic and Social Council, and of the Trusteeship Council,
and shall perform other functions as are entrusted to him by these organs” (Article
98, Chapter XV, UN Charter).
The UN system is further composed of affiliated programs, funds and specialized
agencies with separate membership, leadership, and even budget. These Specialized
Agencies are considered independent international organizations. For detailed
enumeration and description of the UN programs, funds, and Specialized Agencies,
please visit and explore UN’s official website at http://www.un.org/en/sections/
about-un/funds-programmes-specialized-agencies-and-others/index.html.

Challenges to Global Governance

The UN plays four essential roles in identifying and diagnosing problems (Weiss,
2014). It fills gaps in 1) managing knowledge, 2) developing norms, 3) promulgating
recommendations, and 4) institutionalizing ideas.

Managing Knowledge
As a student of global governance, one must recognize and realize that the
world is facing myriad global issues, concerns, and challenges. Kofi Annan (2018)
considers them “problems without passport,” and they defy solutions by a single
state. As a lifelong learner in the process of becoming a competent professional, one
must confront the following questions head on (Weiss, 2014):
1. How is knowledge of new problems and issues acquired or created?
2. How is it transmitted to the policy community?
3. How do solutions get formulated and adopted?

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Chapter 1: Globalization and Global Governance

Developing Norms
Once information about a global issue or concern has been studied and
gathered, the UN will play a very important role in articulating, disseminating, and
institutionalizing new norms. This enables the organization to address this global
problem directly. These international norms can be transmitted down into national
politics and incorporated into domestic laws or into policy preferences of political
leaders through elite learning. However, the challenge lies as to “how contested
norms become institutionalized both within and among states and the interactive
dynamics of the processes of institutionalization at the national, regional, and global
levels”(Weiss, 2014).

Formulating Recommendations
The United Nations is in many respects a policy actor in its own right (Thakur,
2009). As new problems emerge and new norms arise, it highlights gaps in policy that
need attention and that must be addressed by formulating a range of possibilities
about how governments and their citizens and IGOs can change behavior (Weiss,
2014). Formulating recommendations is quite a challenging phase in the policy
stage, considering the actors involved and other factors that must be taken into
account. The UN 2004 report determines how the world organization meets the
challenges of global governance in the 21st century.
1. Multilateralism no longer concerns governments alone but is now
multifaceted, involving many constituencies; the UN must develop new skills to
service this new way of working.
2. It must become an outward-looking or network organization, catalyzing the
relationships needed to get strong results and not letting the traditions of its formal
processes be barriers.
3. It must strengthen global governance by advocating universality, inclusion,
participation, and accountability at all levels.
4. It must engage more systematically with world public opinion to become
more responsive, to help shape public attitudes, and to bolster support for
multilateralism.

Institutionalizing Ideas
Implementing recommendations is another story all together. It is extremely
challenging to encourage sovereign member states to adopt these recommendations.
Inevitably—even with full knowledge, adequate norms, policies, and operations
to back them up—some individuals or groups challenge and defy the norms and
laws (Weiss, 2014). The modalities and procedures for enforcing compliance with
international norms and laws are absent for the United Nations.

24
 The Contemporary World

This illustrates succinctly the contention that the UN is not and will never evolve
into a world government. The UN is continuing to address this major gap in the
global governance of the contemporary world.

Global Divide
We are told, ready or not, that globalization is here and now. It does not present
itself as an option, but rather as a compelling impetus which we have to deal with on
a day-to-day basis. People who are pro-globalization would argue that globalization
carries with it the much-needed increased opportunities for all and triggers increased
competition, which is something positive as it makes production more efficient.
Those who are anti-globalization, on the other hand, would contend that there are
states or groups of people who do not have enough resources that would capacitate
them to operate within the increased competitive global context. For those who
dare to observe closely, one can deduce that globalization, whether intentionally or
unintentionally, has created a global divide.
The global divide connotes separation, tension, and hostility. As globalization
highlights the increasing intensity of international social, economic, and political
interactions and the degree upon which systems are increasingly organized at
the global level, evading regulation by sovereign states, it brings with it both
opportunities and threats. The contemporary world in the global context faces two
contradictory trends. While a globalized market opens the prospects of unimagined
wealth, it creates new vulnerabilities and new gap. Claudio (2014) uses the Starbucks
and the shanty analogy to strike the point that global interconnectedness is woven
into the fabric of everyday life:
“One does not need to look far to see markers of global interconnectedness,
even global modernity. There are Starbucks branches in both Melbourne
and Manila, New York and New Delhi. All these branches look more or
less the same and they have similar menus of espresso-based drinks. This
sameness represents the cultural homogenization that many critics have
associated with globalization.
Yet despite the common aesthetics of these cafés, the world outside them
can be very different. In Manila and New Delhi, there is a good chance that,
upon leaving the café, you will find a child beggar in tattered clothes and
worn-down slippers. Walk a block or two and with your latte still hot, you
may find a shantytown where houses are built from discarded plywood
and galvanized iron sheets. These shanties have poor sanitation; many of its
residents are employed in the informal economic sector; its children, some
of whom are child laborers, cannot afford to go to school. There is also a
chance that these shanties’ residents are under the threat of being evicted

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Chapter 1: Globalization and Global Governance

or having their homes demolished to make way for a large commercial

development, which will serve the city’s middle class.” (Claudio, 2014, p.185)
Both Starbucks and the shanties are symbols of globalization. One can replace
Starbucks with other popular culture symbols of globalization, such as McDonald’s,
Coca Cola, and Toyota, and still see the striking and contrasting images of affluence
and poverty and/or of growth and stagnation. This is a very distinct reminder that
“globalization creates undersides” (Claudio, 2014, p.185).

Locating the Global South

Global South is generally a term used when poorer countries are being collectively
discussed. It is in a way synonymous to the terms “the less-developed world, the
majority world, the non-Western world, the poor world, the South, the Third World,
or the underworld” (Rigg, 2007). The term Global South, at the onset, suggests the
idea of a division between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It is home to
developing and least developed states in contrast to the Global North which houses
the most developed countries as illustrated by the map below. The members of the
Group of 8 (G8: mostly leaders of highly industrialized countries, to wit: Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of
America), and four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council are
also located in the Global North. With this, it then becomes related to an economic
divide between the richer and poorer states.

Figure 2. North and South Divide

However, according to Czerniewicz (2016), the Global South is partly

geographical and partly imaginary (slide no. 7). The term must not be taken too

26
 The Contemporary World

literally as a mere division of the world into two parts. Grovogui (2011), as cited by
Claudio, contends that:

The Global South is not a directional designation or a point due south from
a fixed north. It is a symbolic designation meant to capture the semblance
of cohesion that emerged when former colonial entities engaged in political
projects of decolonization and moved toward the realization of a postcolonial
international order. (Grovogui, 2014, p.187)

Global South is not just a concept based on

geographical boundaries. The term flaunts the Fun Facts
impossibility of simple divisions because the blunt
instrument of the equator cannot fully pretend to map
Is there a Fourth
the planet’s socioeconomic conditions (Duck, 2015). Its World? Yes.
historical, socioeconomic, and political connotations Sociologist Manuel
must be understood in the context of globalization. Castells originally
The unequal impact of globalization makes the global coined the term.
dynamic, and it is not a static concept. Vis-à-vis the new It is used to
trends created by globalization, not only the definition describe the most
of Global South may change, but also which countries poverty-stricken
are and are not considered part of the Global South and economically
(Wolvers, 2016). The Global South is everywhere, but troubled parts of
it is also somewhere, and that somewhere is located countries in the Third
at the intersection of entangled political geographies World. It also refers
to a “lost” world
of dispossession and repossession (Claudio, 2014). As
or subpopulation
illustrated by “the Starbucks and the shanty,” spaces
subjected to social
of underdevelopment in developed countries may exclusion in a global
mirror the poverty of the Global South, and spaces of society.
affluence in the developing world mirror those of the
Global North.

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Chapter 1: Globalization and Global Governance

References
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Steger, Manfred. B. (2013). Globalization: A Very Short Introduction. (3rd Ed.). Oxford:
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Weiss, T., & Thakur, R. (2014). The United Nations meet the 21st century: Confronting
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Exercises
A. Based on the different definitions of globalization presented in the chapter,
come up with your own working definition.
B. Identify, aside from the United Nations, other international organizations
involved in global governance.
C. Form a group compose of five members. Identify and discuss at least three
of the most pressing problems in the global south and come up with viable
recommendations as to how to address these problems.

Supplementary Learning Resources

1. Steger, M. B. (2005). Ideologies of globalization. Journal of Political
Ideologies 10 (1): 11–30.
2. Steger, M. B. (2014). The SAGE handbook of globalization. Thousand Oaks:
SAGE Publications.
3. United Nations. (2014). Country classification. In World Economic Situation
and Prospects 2014 (pp. 143–150). Retrieved from
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_current/
2014wesp_country_classification.pdf

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