CHAPTER I

Introduction to the Study of Globalization

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this topic/chapter, you must be able to:
1. Differentiate the competing conceptions of globalization
2. Identify the underlying philosophies of the varying definitions of globalization

Lesson 1: Concepts and Its Underlying

Philosophies of Globalization
Conceptions of Globalization

The emergence of globalization brought us to become more sociable and increases our
awareness on technological aspect through this we have interactive movement on
different sphere such as political, social, cultural, economic and technology which we
best describe as “globalization”.
Before, the “global age,” people, things, information, places, and objects tended to
harden over time. Their common characteristics was “solidity,” which is the
characteristic of being limited to one place. Wherein solidity also refers to the
persistence of barriers that prevented free movement of people, information, and
objects in that period. Although solidity persists yet it is “fluidity” that is more describe
the face of the “global age.” Many years it seemed solid has tended to “melt” and
become increasingly mobile or turn into liquid state.
Consequently, a range of technological developments in transportation and
communication have enabled far greater global movement of what was previously solid.
” Globalization is increasingly characterized by flows of liquid phenomena including
people, objects, decisions, information, and places. In spite of greater liquidity and ever
- more flows of various types, the world is still characterized by great inequality. While
globalization flows more easily through the developed world, it bypasses many locales
in the less developed world.
Such concept of globalization can be also assessed through metaphors of heavy, light,
and weightless. In the early years, there has been movement from that which is heavy
to that which is light and most recently to that which approaches weightlessness. Pre -
industrial and industrial societies were characterized as “heavy,” by that which is difficult
to move. Moreover, advances in transportation and technology made goods, people,
and places lighter. Since we are currently in an era defined not only by lightness but
also increasingly by weightlessness.
 Different definitions from the different
authors:

Also, the Globalization is the worldwide

uprising integration of economic, technological,
of global political, cultural, and social aspects
economi between countries (Hamilton, 2008).
c,
political, environmental, and social activities.
Expanding international capitalism, mainly through the reach of multinational
corporations; the activities of the more important international political organizations
such as the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World trade
Organization

Globalization is reshaping how we have traditionally gone about studying

Globaliz
the social world and human culture and a field of globalization studies is
ation
now emerging across the disciplines (Appelbaum and Robinson, 2005)
can be
thought
of to be the result of the opening-up of the global economy and the concomitant
increase in trade between nations. In other words, when countries that were hitherto
closed to trade and foreign investment open-up their economies and go global, the
result is an increasing interconnectedness and integration of the economies of the
world. This is a brief introduction to globalization. Further, globalization can also mean
that countries liberalize their import protocols and welcome foreign investment into
sectors that are the mainstays of its economy. What this means is that countries
multinational corporations.

Schirato and Webb (2003) view ‘globalization’ as a ‘discursive regime, a

kind of machine that eats up anyone and anything in its path’. They Globali
suggest that ‘globalization functions as a set of texts, ideas, goals, values, zation
narratives, dispositions and prohibitions, a veritable template for ordering is an
and evaluating activities, which is “filled in” or inflected with the interests of historic
whoever can access it’. al
proces
s that began with trade and migration in the distant past but has recently accelerated as
a result of the international spread of capitalism, rationalism, industrial production, and
economic liberalism. Also, in globalization used then to refer to the ongoing growth of
interconnections and interdependencies in economics, politics, and culture in which
social ties across boundaries have become more regularized and routine.

Further
The manifestations of globalization include the spatial reorganization of more,
production, the interpenetration of industries across borders, the spread of there
financial markets, the diffusion of identical consumer goods to distant are
countries, massive transfers of population. (Mittelman, 2000)
broad approaches involved in globalization. In the first, it is a process that has been
going on since the dawn of history, hence a 5,000–10,000-year time frame. In the
second, it is a process coterminous with the spread and development of capitalism and
modernity, hence a 500-year frame. In the third, it is a recent phenomenon associated
with such processes of post-industrialization, post modernization or the restructuring of
capitalism, hence a 20–30-year frame. These mentioned approaches are the
manifestation of globalization in the global perspective.

Finally, there are six core claims of globalism in the study conducted by
STEGER, 2005

1. Globalization is about the liberalization and global integration of

markets.
2. Globalization is inevitable and irreversible.
3. NOBODY is in charge of globalization.
4. Globalization benefits everyone.
5. Globalization further the spread of democracy in the world.
6. Globalization requires a global war on terror.

FACTS about Globalization

Globalization in Economics

Refers to the prevalent international movement of goods, capital services,

technology and information. It is the increasing economic integration and
interdependence of national, regional and local economies across the
world.

Globalization in Politics

Politics can take place above the state through political integration
patterns such as the European Union and through intergovernmental
organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank
and the World Trade Organization. Numbers of political activities can be
transcended through national borders through global movement and non-
governmental organization (NGO).

Globalization in Culture

Refers to the transmission of ideas, meanings and values around the

world in such a way as to extend and intensify social relations.This
process is marked by the common consumption of cultures that have
been diffused by the internet, popular culture media, and international
level. And also to processes of commodity, exchange and colonization
which have a longer history of carrying cultural meaning around the globe.
 Globalization in Religion

Religion plays a vital role in globalization which all people’s come to live in
a single social unit. The impact of globalization have brought into a
religious pluralism and it provides a fertile ground for a variety of
noninstitutionalized religious manifestations and for the development of
religion as a political and cultural resource.

Globalization in Technology

Technology globalization is speeded in large part by technological

diffusion, the spread of technology across borders. The rapid improvement
in the spread of technology to peripheral and semi-peripheral nations.

Global Issues

These are the contemporary issues

involve multifaceted dimensions such as
political, economic, social
historical and geographic
components. The interconnected and
series of event happened in the global
perspectives affected all
humankind.

• Population - Our population is growing that no one will be startled by that the
rate of growth, and the fact that the present growth of population is in
unprecedented in human history.
• Food Production - How much food is produced in the world at present? Is there
enough for everyone? The answer may be surprising that we have enough food.
• The Energy - Climate Crisis are we running out of energy? Of course not.
Everything is made out of energy. These laws also state that energy cannot be
created; all we can do is to transform it from one state to another.
• Military issues- major force in managing peace and security, especially in inter -
state relations.
• Economic - promote actions that would lead to reductions in global inequality.
• Environmental - (e.g. pollution, hazardous wastes) which are dealt with primarily
through the United Nations Environment Programme.
• Poverty - International trade generally increases wealth. But it does not always
distribute that wealth equally. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported
that the gap between rich and poor countries has grown within the past several
decades. The gap between people within countries has grown as well.
 Impact of Globalization

The wider effects of globalization increased global awareness and the growth of illicit
cross border activities. Moreover, the global interconnectivity which probably fascinated
the illegitimate transaction of activities such black market and other human trafficking.

For the people living in deprived parts of the world, global awareness raises their
expectations and lower their tolerance of the situation they are in. This is probably a
factor in the spread of democracy and growing demands for political freedoms where
these are still denied.
For people in richer countries, the information revolution is helping to forge a sense of
global community and transnational solidarity. This is a manifestation of global coalitions
among nation states involving different universal issues such as human rights,
humanitarian aid and labor exploitation.

Unskilled and indigenous people are particularly the vulnerable one. The high rising
building and increase mobility of economic enterprise lead them to displaced and
massive dislocation, environmental degradation and violations of human rights.

Lesson 2: Theorization of Globalization

Theorizing Globalization

These are the underlying philosophies of the varying definitions of globalization

1. Imperialism
- is a broad concept that describes
various methods employed by one
country to gain control (sometimes
through territorial conquest) of
another country (or geographic area)
and then to exercise control,
especially political, economic, and
territorial, over that country (or
geographic area), and perhaps
many other countries.
 2. Colonialism
- generally, involves settlers as well as much
more formal mechanisms of political control than
those of imperialism.

Decolonization or “the process of revealing and

dismantling colonialist power in all its forms. This
includes dismantling the hidden aspects of those
institutional and cultural forces that had
maintained the colonialist power and that remain
even after political independence is achieved”.

3. Neo – Liberalism

Neo-liberal and laissez-faire

economic ideologies favoring free
trade, free circulation of capital, and
freedom to invest anywhere have
encouraged the growth of a complex
international system of economic
interdependence that transcends national borders. (Filmer 1995).

In the context of modernization theory, it tends to view the West as a map for global
development. There are more modern practices and modes of thought developed over
the traditional ways which modern societies adopted and these can be introduced from
without, so that the West has a central role to play in the modernization of developing
social orders (Hulme and Turner, 1990)

Also, in the study of Robinson, 2007, Globalization theories there are three broad
approaches. In the first, it is a process that has been going on since the dawn of history,
hence a 5,000–10,000-year time frame. In the second, it is a process coterminous with
the spread and development of capitalism and modernity, hence a 500-year frame. In
the third, it is a recent phenomenon associated with such processes of post-
industrialization, post -modernization or the restructuring of capitalism, hence a 20–30-
year frame.