Contemporary world

What is globalization?
What is globalization?
According to Giddens (1990) , Globalization maybe defined as follows:
Defines it as the intensification of worldwide social relations which
link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped
by events occurring miles away and vice versa. The
interconnectedness of human beings, brought about by technological
changes, modern transportation and communication technology, seems
to be the common understanding
What is globalization?
According to Steger (2005)
The Sunny Levin Institute looks at globalization as a process of
interaction and integration among the people, companies, and
governments of different nations, a process driven by international
trade and investment and aided by information technology. The process
has effects on the environment, on culture, on political systems, on
economic development and prosperity, and on human physical well-
being in societies around the world.
What is globalization?
As argued by Claudio and Abinales (2018)
The best scholarly description of globalization is provided by
Manfred Steger who described the process as the “expansion
and intensification of social relations and consciousness across
world-time and across world- space.
On the contrary, a group of scholars does not subscribe to the
sociological viewpoint. Instead they argue that internationalization
and multinationalization are phases that precede globalization
because the latter heralds the end of state system as the nucleus of
human activies
Economic viewpoint (according to Coronacion & Calilung, 2018)
Phenomenon is dominated by global economic activities like the
neoliberal regime, the reduction of tariffs, the creation of
transnational corporations, and improvements of multilateral trade
organization.
According to Claudio and Abinales (2018)
The intersecting processes of globalization may be confusing.
Indeed, it may be hard to assess globalization or comment on it
because it is so diffuse and almost fleeting. Some scholars have,
therefore, found it simpler. Instead they want to discuss
“MULTIPLE GLOBALIZATION”
Anthropologist arjun Appadurai
Different kinds of globalization occur on
multiple and intersecting dimension of
integration that he calls “scapes”.
Ethnoscape
Mediascape
Technoscape
Financescape
Ideoscape
According to Steger (2005) Globalization has been
commonly understood either as a
PROCESS
CONDITION
 IDEOLOGY.
 Globalization as a process
Globalization is viewed as a multidimensional set of social
processes that generate and increase “worldwide social
interdependence and exchange while at the same time fostering
in people a growing awareness of deepening connections
between the local and the distant” (Steger, 2005)
Trade Caravans on the Silk Road, Central Asia
(Photo from: North Wind Pictures Archives,
cited by Britannica Encyclopedia)
 Globalization as a condition
Globalization is also referred to by scholars as globality. (Scholte,
2008) refers to Globality as a social condition characterized by
trans- planetary connectivity and supra-territoriality.
In other words Globalization as a social condition is characterized
by thick economic, political and cultural interconnections and
global flows that render political borders and economic barriers
irrelevant.
The experience of Dr. Vihn Ching, a US-
based medical doctor and was once a
Vietnamese refugee, illustrates how this present
world has become increasingly interconnected.
“That could have been me,” he said in an
interview at CNN about the photograph of a
lifeless body of Syrian boy found lying with
face down in the beach of turkey in September
2015. This chilling photo of the lifeless body of
a Syrian boy, which spread in various social
media networks, is a fine example of
globalization as a condition as it moved people
from across the world to express their concern
over the plight of the Syrian refugees and
disappointment with the apathy shown by the
international community.
 Globalization as a ideology
(Steger, 2005) Explains that globalization exists in people’s
consciousness because it consists of a set of coherent and
complementary ideas and beliefs system that benefits a certain
class.
Globalization as an Ideology is defined by six
(6) core claims
Globalization is about the liberalization and Global integration of Markets.
Globalization is inevitable and irreversible.
Nobody is in charge of globalization.
Globalization benefits everyone in the long run
Globalization furthers the spread of democracy
Globalization requires a global war on terror.
 Theoretical Paradigms associated to
Globalization
World System Paradigm – It views globalization not as recent
phenomenon but as virtually synonymous with birth and spread
of world capitalism.
- This paradigm adheres to the idea that capitalism has created a
global enterprise that swept the 19th century leading to the present
time.
Global Capitalism Paradigm- the theories under this school of
though treat globalization as a novel stage in the evolving system of
world capitalism. This paradigm is focused on new global
production and financial system; both are seen to have superseded
earlier national forms of capitalism. They also emphasize the rise of
phenomena, which espoused the transnational practices as
operational categories for the analysis of transnational phenomena.
This theory emphasized that Transnational Capitalist Class (TCC)
has emerged as a new class that brings together several social
group that see their own interests in an expanding global
capitalist system.
 The Network Society School of Thought – This paradigm of
Globalization does not subscribe to the contention that
capitalism fuels globalization. Instead, it puts forth the premise
that technology and technological change are the underlying
causes of several processes that comprise globalization.
Space, Time and Globalization – For Anthony Giddens, the
conceptual essence of globalization is “time- space distanciation”.
Giddens defines time- space distanciation as the intensification of
world wide social relations which link distant localities in such a
way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many
miles away and vice versa- social relations are lifted out from local
contexts of interaction and restructured across time and space.
Transnationality and Transnationalism – Transnationalism
generally refers to an umbrella concept encompassing a wide
variety of transformative processes, practices and developments that
take place simultaneously at the local level and global level.
Transnational processes and practices are defined broadly as the
multiple ties and interactions- economic, political, social and
cultural- that link people, communities and institutions across the
borders of nation- state.
Global Culture Paradigm- This paradigm emphasize the rapid
growth of the mass media and resultant global cultural flows and
images in recent decades, evoking the image famously put forth
by Marshall Mcluhan of the global collage. Cultural theories of
globalization have focused on such phenomena as globalization
and religion, nations and ethnicity, global consumerism, global
communications and the globalization of tourism.
 Misconceptions about globalization
Globalization as Internationalization
Internationalization – includes activities by entities such as
corporations, states, international organizations, private
organizations, and even individuals with reference to national
borders and national governments.
Globalization- Includes a gamut of human activities that do not
require reference to a state’s national borders.
 Globalization as liberalization
Another misconception in the analyses of globalization is treating
it as synonymous to liberalization. In this sense, globalization is
confined with the understanding that it will only be realized when
national governments “Reduce or abolish regulatory measures
like trade barriers, foreign exchange restrictions, capital controls
and visa requirements”.
 Globalization as Universalization and
Westernization
A final cul-de-sac appears in the analyses of globalization when it is
thought of as universalization and westernization. Universalization
denotes a process of spreading various objects, practices, and
experiences to the different parts of the planet. As homogenization
progresses, globalization destroy several indigenous cultures and
practices. If western modernity spreads and destroys local cultures,
this variant of universalization is known as Westernization.
 Reflection
imagine you were trapped in the midst of a war and you are armed
with mobile phone with a battery almost dying out, give at least three
(3) tweets or fb post that you would like to tell the world at the
moment and explain your reasons for each. Considering the potential
impact of your post to the world, expound how globalization becomes
a boon and/a bane in the contemporary world.