Republic of the Philippines

ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY

Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Chapter 1: Introduction to Globalization (3 hours)

Introduction
This chapter presents the different definitions and concepts of globalization and its
underlying philosophies. It also traces back the brief historical evolution of globalization from
prehistoric to contemporary times.
Learning Outcomes
1. Differentiate the competing conceptions of globalization
2. Identify the underlying philosophies of the varying definitions of globalization
3. Agree on a working definition of globalization for the course
4. Trace the historical evolution of Globalization
Content
Since its earliest appearance in the 1960s, the term 'globalization' has been used
in both popular and academic literature to describe a process, a condition, a system, a
force, and an age. Given that these competing labels have very different meanings, their
indiscriminate usage is often obscure and invites confusion.
Scholars not only hold different views with regard to proper definitions of globalization,
they also disagree on its scale, causation, chronology, impact, trajectories, and policy
outcomes.
For example, the academic dispute over the scale of globalization revolves around the
question of whether it should be understood in singular or differentiated terms. This notion
of 'multidimensionality' appears as an important attribute of globalization in our own
definition; still it requires further elaboration. The ancient Buddhist parable of the blind
scholars and their encounter with the elephant helps to illustrate the nature of the
academic controversy over the various dimensions of globalization.
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
Like the blind men in the parable,
each globalization researcher is partly
right by correctly identifying one
important dimension of the
phenomenon in question. However,
their collective mistake lies in their dogmatic attempts to reduce such a complex phenomenon
as globalization to a single domain that corresponds to their own expertise.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

To be sure, one of the central tasks for globalization researchers consists of devising better
ways for gauging the relative importance of each dimension without losing sight of the
interconnected whole. But it would be a grave mistake to cling to a one-sided understanding of
globalization.
Manfred B. Steger (2003), introduces Globalization as a set of social processes that are
thought to transform our present social condition into one of globality. At its core, then,
globalization is about shifting forms of human contact.
• globality signifies a “social condition” characterized by the existence of global economic,
political, cultural, and environmental interconnections and flows that make many of the
currently existing borders and boundaries irrelevant.
To argue that globalization refers to a set of social processes propelling us towards the
condition of globality may eliminate the danger of circular definitions, but it gives us only one
defining characteristic of the process: movement towards greater interdependence and
integration.
There are 5 Influential Definitions of Globalization
• Globalization can thus be defined as the intensification of worldwide social relations
which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events
occurring many miles away and vice versa. -Anthony Giddens, Director of the London
School of Economics
• The concept of globalization reflects the sense of an immense enlargement of world
communication, as well as of the horizon of a world market, both of which seem far more
tangible and immediate than in earlier stages of modernity.- Fredric Jameson,
Professor of Literature at Duke University
• Globalization may be thought of as a process (or set of processes) which embodies a
transformation in the spatial organization of social relations and transactions – assessed
in terms of their extensity, intensity, velocity and impact - generating transcontinental or
interregional flows and networks of activity, interaction, and the exercise of power.-
David Held, Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics
• Globalization as a concept refers both to the compression of the world and the
intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole.-Roland Robertson, Professor
of Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh
• Globalization compresses the time and space aspects of social relations.-James
Mittelman, Professor of International Relations at American University
In Summary by Manfred Steger
• Globalization 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.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

The five influential definitions of Globalization suggest four (4) distinct qualities or
characteristics at the core of the phenomenon;
• First: 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.
• Second, the second quality of globalization is reflected in the EXPANSION and the
STRETCHING of social relations, activities, and interdependencies.
• Third, globalization involves the INTENSIFICATION and ACCELERATION of social
exchanges and activities.
• Fourth, the CREATION, EXPANSION, and INTENSIFICATION of social
interconnections and interdependencies do not occur merely on an objective, material
level. As Roland Robertson notes in his definition, globalization processes also involve
the SUBJECTIVE plane of human consciousness.
While the short chronology outlined below is necessarily fragmentary and general, it
nonetheless gives us a good sense that globalization is as old as humanity itself. This brief
historical sketch identifies five distinct historical periods that are separated from each other by
significant accelerations in the pace of social exchanges as well as a widening of their
geographical scope.
1. The prehistoric period (10,000 BCE-3,500 BCE)
Let us begin our brief historical sketch of globalization about 12,000 years ago when small
bands of hunters and gatherers reached the southern tip of South America and global
dispersion of our species was finally achieved.
In this earliest phase of globalization, contact among thousands of hunter and gatherer bands
spread all over the world was geographically limited and mostly coincidental.
Humans took the crucial step of producing their own food through farming and domestication of
animals – Agricultural Revolution.
Over time, food surpluses achieved by these early farmers and herders led to population
increases, the establishment of permanent villages, and the construction of fortified towns and
created social classes whose members did not participate in food production; full-time craft
specialists and the other group was comprised of professional bureaucrats and soldiers.
For the most part, however, globalization in the prehistoric period was severely limited.
Advanced forms of technology capable of overcoming existing geographical and social
obstacles were largely absent; thus, enduring long-distance interactions never materialized. It
was only towards the end of this epoch that centrally administered forms of agriculture, religion,
bureaucracy, and warfare slowly emerged as the key agents of intensifying modes of social
exchange that would involve a growing number of societies in many regions of the world.
2. The pre-modern period (3,500 BCE-1,500 CE)
The invention of writing in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and central China between 3,500 and 2,000
BCE roughly coincided with the invention of the wheel around 3,000 BCE in Southwest Asia.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Marking the close of the prehistoric period, these monumental inventions amounted to one of
those technological and social boosts that strengthened globalization processes.
The wheel spurred crucial infrastructural innovations such as animal-drawn carts and
permanent roads that allowed for the faster and more efficient transportation of people and
goods. In addition to the spread of ideas and inventions, writing greatly facilitated the
coordination of complex social activities and thus encouraged large state formations.
Thus the pre-modern period was the age of empires. As some states succeeded in establishing
permanent rule over other states, the resulting vast territorial accumulations formed the basis of
the Egyptian Kingdoms, the Persian Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the American Empires of
the Aztecs and the Incas, the Roman Empire, the Indian Empires, the Byzantine Empire, the
Islamic Caliphates, the Holy Roman Empire, the African Empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay,
and the Ottoman Empire. All of these empires fostered the multiplication and extension of long-
distance communication and the exchange of culture, technology, commodities, and diseases.
Chinese Empire implemented a series of fateful political decisions that halted overseas
navigation and mandated a retreat from further technological development.
Towards the end of the pre-modern period, then, the existing global trade network consisted of
several interlocking trade circuits that connected the most populous regions of Eurasia and
northeastern Africa.
The existence of these sprawling networks of economic and cultural exchange triggered
massive waves of migration, which, in turn, led to further population increase and the rapid
growth of urban centers.
3. The early modern period (1500-1750)
The label 'early modern', then, refers to the period between the Enlightenment and the
Renaissance. During these two centuries, Europe and its social practices served as the primary
catalyst for globalization.
European powers failed to penetrate into the interior of Africa and Asia. Instead, they turned
their expansionistic desires westward, searching for a new, profitable sea route to India. Their
efforts were aided by such innovations as mechanized printing, sophisticated wind and water
mills, extensive postal systems, revised maritime technologies, and advanced navigation
techniques.
Embodying the new values of individualism and unlimited material accumulation, European
economic entrepreneurs laid the foundation of what later scholars would call the 'capitalist world
system.
The monarchs of Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, and England all put significant
resources into the exploration of new worlds and the construction of new interregional markets
that benefited them much more than their exotic 'trading partners'. By the early 1600s, national
joint stock companies like the Dutch and British East India companies were founded for the
express purpose of setting up profitable overseas trade posts. As these innovative corporations
grew in size and stature, they acquired the power to regulate most intercontinental economic
transactions, in the process implementing social institutions and cultural practices that enabled
later colonial governments to place these foreign regions under direct political rule.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Ultimately evolving from the Westphalian states system, the sovereign, territorial nation-state
had emerged by 1648 as the modern container of social life. As the early modern period drew to
a close, interdependencies among nation-states were multiplying as well as increasing in
density.
4. The modern period (1750-1970)
Fed by a steady stream of materials and resources that originated mostly in other regions of the
world, Western capitalist enterprises gained in stature. Daring to resist powerful governmental
controls, economic entrepreneurs and their academic counterparts began to spread a
philosophy of individualism and rational self-interest that glorified the virtues of an idealized
capitalist system supposedly based upon the providential workings of the free market and its
'invisible hand'.
Eager to acquire their own independent resource bases, most European nation-states subjected
large portions of the global South to direct colonial rule.
Global pricing systems facilitated trade in important commodities like grains, cotton, and various
metals.
Brand name packaged goods like Coca-Cola drinks made their first appearance and
international advertising agencies launched the first full-blown trans-border commercial
promotion campaigns.
Intensification of global interconnections would not have been possible without the 19thcentury
explosion of science and technology. To be sure, the 32 maintenance of these new industrial
regimes required new power sources such as electricity and petroleum.
Railways, mechanized shipping, and 20thcentury intercontinental air transport managed to
overcome the last remaining geographical obstacles to the establishment of a genuine global
infrastructure, while at the same time lowering transportation costs. These innovations in
transportation were complemented by the swift development of communication technologies.
The telegraph and its transatlantic reach after 1866 provided for instant information exchanges
between the two hemispheres. Moreover, the telegraph set the stage for the telephone and
wireless radio communication, prompting newly emerging communication corporations like
AT&T to coin advertising slogans in celebration of a world 'inextricably bound together'. Finally,
the 20th-century arrival of mass circulation newspapers and magazines, film, and television
further enhanced a growing consciousness of a rapidly shrinking world.
When the accelerating process of industrialization sharpened existing disparities in wealth and
well-being beyond bearable limits, many working people in the global North began to organize
themselves politically in various labour movements and socialist parties
Interstate rivalries intensified at the outset of the 20th century as a result of mass migration,
urbanization, colonial competition, and the excessive liberalization of world trade.
The ensuing period of extreme nationalism culminated in two devastating world wars, a long
global economic depression, and hostile measures to protect narrowly conceived political
communities. The defeat of the axis powers in 1945 and the process of decolonization slowly
revived global flows and international exchanges. A new political order of nation-states

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

anchored in the charter of the United Nations raised the prospect of global democratic
governance.

5. The contemporary period (from 1970 - present)

Teaching and Learning Activities

Activity 1
From the 5 influential definitons of globalization, compare two definitions and explain the
differences in terms on dimension/aspect focus in globalization.
Example: David Held’s definition talked about transformation - like the exercise in “power” which
is about political globalization, while Frederic James’ definition talks about the “immense
enlargement of world communication” which has something to do with technological
advancement aspect of globalization.
Dimensions to choose from can be;
● Political , Economics, Societal/ Social, Cultural, Technological, Religious, Ideological
Activity 2
In your class GC, collaborate with your classmates a working definition of Globalization which
has the following key words – interconnectedness/interconnected,
interdependence/interdependent, world, social relations, social processes.

Recommended learning materials and resources for supplementary reading.

Steger, Manfred B. 2014, Chapter 2 of textbook: “Approaches to the Study of Globalization
Steger, Manfred B. 2005, “Ideologies of Globalization.” Journal of Political Ideologies 10(1): 11–
30.
Steger, Manfred B. 2003, Globalization, A very short Introduction. Oxford University Press.

Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) adopted

Online (synchronous) - Class collaboration through the GC/SeDi LMS
Remote (asynchronous) - Individual task/activity through module
Assessment Task

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Task 1: Which of the following influential definitions reflects the EXPANSION and the
STRETCHING of social relations, activities, and interdependencies? Explain and give a
specific example of this in the contemporary times.
Task 2: Trace the development of a certain dimension of globalization in every distinct
period.
For example:
Economic Aspect
1. The prehistoric period – hunting and gathering (food production)
2. The pre-modern period – Transportation of goods
3. The early modern period -
4. The modern period -
5. The contemporary period -

References
Steger, Manfred B. 2014, Chapter 2 of textbook: “Approaches to the Study of Globalization
Steger, Manfred B. 2005, “Ideologies of Globalization.” Journal of Political Ideologies 10(1):
11–30.
Steger, Manfred B. 2003, Globalization, A very short Introduction. Oxford University Press

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Chapter 2: The Structures of Globalization (4.5 hours)

Introduction
This chapter is focused on the economic aspect as the main driving force of
globalization. Economic globalization will be defined and this chapter introduces the different
actors that facilitates economic globalization. This chapter will also define the modern world
system we live in and hope to give us enough information to decide our stand on global
economic integration.

Learning Outcomes
1. Define economic Globalization
2. Identify the actors that facilitate economic globalization
3. Define the modern world system
4. Articulate a stance on global economic integration
5. Differentiate the economic systems

Content
Held et al. (1999) offer a convenient starting point for any discussion on globalization by
claiming that it ‘may be thought of initially as the widening, deepening and speeding up of
worldwide interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary social life’ (1999: 2). ‘Aspects’ can
refer to ‘political, technical and cultural, as well as economic’ features (Giddens, 1999: 10),
implying that globalization is best thought of as a multidimensional phenomenon.
Economic globalization does not constitute the whole story of contemporary globalization, but in
order to fully understand its meaning and implication, the economic dimension, as one of the
major driving forces of the process of globalization, requires special attention.
What Is Economic Globalization?
According to one of the most often cited definitions,
Economic globalization is a historical process, the result of human innovation and
technological progress. It refers to the increasing integration of economies around the
world, particularly through the movement of goods, services, and capital across borders. The

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

term sometimes also refers to the movement of people (labor) and knowledge (technology)
across international borders. (IMF, 2008)
The phenomenon can thus have several interconnected dimensions, such as
(1) the globalization of trade of goods and services;
(2) the globalization of financial and capital markets;
(3) the globalization of technology and communication; and
(4) the globalization of production.
What makes economic globalization distinct from internationalization is that while the latter is
about the extension of economic activities of nation states across borders, the former is
‘functional integration between internationally dispersed activities’ Dicken (2004: 12). That is,
economic globalization is rather a qualitative transformation than just a quantitative change.

ACTORS OF ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION

1. Nation-states
Globalization is a force that changed the way nation-states deal with one another, particularly in
the area of international commerce.
One commonly recognized effect of globalization is that it favors Westernization, meaning that
other nation-states (Like US and UK) are at a disadvantage when dealing with the Americas and
Europe. This is particularly true in the agricultural industry, in which second- and third-world
nations face competition from Western companies. Another potential effect is that nation-states
are forced to examine their economic policies in light of the many challenges and opportunities
that multinational corporations and other entities of international commerce present.
Nation-states to confront the unique issue of foreign direct investments from MNCs/TNCs,
forcing nation-states to determine how much international influence they allow in their
economies. Globalization also creates a sense of interdependence among nations, which could
create an imbalance of power among nations of different economic strengths.
The role of the nation-state in a global world is largely a regulatory one as the chief factor in
global interdependence. While the domestic role of the nation-state remains largely unchanged,
states that were previously isolated are now forced to engage with one another to set
international commerce policies. Through various economic imbalances, these interactions may
lead to diminished roles for some states and exalted roles for others.
2. Global Corporations
- Multinational corporations (MNCs)
- Transnational corporations (TNCs)
The pervasive influence of TNCs resulted in a change in the politics of trade. According to Held
and McGrew (2001: 325), ‘it is global corporate capital, rather than states, which exercises

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

decisive influence over the organization, location and distribution of economic power and
resources”’ in the contemporary world economy.
Contemporary globalization is equated primarily with TNCs, the main driving forces of economic
globalization of the last 100 years, accounting for roughly two-thirds of world export (Gereffi,
2005)

3. International Monetary Systems

According to Krasner (1983: 2), regimes can be thought of as all the ‘implicit and explicit
principles, norms, rules, and decision making procedures around which actors’ expectations
converge'. Consequently, an international monetary system or regime (IMS) ‘refers to the rules,
customs, instruments, facilities, and organizations for effecting international payments’
(Salvatore, 2007: 764). In the liberal tradition, the main task of an IMS is to facilitate cross
border transactions, especially trade and investment. An international monetary system is,
however, more than just money or currencies; it also reflects economic power and interests, as
‘money is inherently political, an integral part of ’“high politics” of diplomacy' (Cohen, 2000: 91).
The Gold Standard
The origins of the first modern-day IMS dates back to the early nineteenth century, when the UK
adopted gold mono-metallism in 1821. Half a century later, in 1867, the European nations, as
well as the United States, propagated a deliberate shift to gold at the International Monetary
Conference in Paris. Gold was believed to guarantee a non-inflationary, stable economic
environment, a means for accelerating international trade (Einaudi, 2001). Roughly 70 per cent
of the nations participated in the gold standard just before the outbreak of World War I
(Meissner, 2005).
The Bretton Woods System and Its Dissolution
As soon as Europe regained its pre-World War II economic power, the external position of the
United States turned into a persistent deficit as a natural consequence of becoming an
international reserve currency. Nevertheless, by the mid-1960s, the dollar became excessively
overvalued vis-a-vis major currencies. As a response, foreign countries started to deplete the
US gold reserves. Destabilizing speculations, fed by the huge balance of payments and trade
deficit, along with inflationary pressures, forced the United States to abandon the gold-exchange
standard on 15 August, 1971.
European Monetary Integration
The miraculous growth performance of Western Europe prompted a closer cooperation on a
regional level, resulting finally in the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951.9 This was
followed by the signing of the Rome Treaty in 1957, which established the European Economic
Community (EEC), and was the first major step towards an ‘ever closer union’. The original six
founding members (Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) aimed at
the creation of a common market, where goods, services, capital and labour moved freely.
Originally, the European six did not plan any direct cooperation in the field of finance or
exchange rate policies. The collapse of the Bretton Woods system, however, placed the EEC

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

under pressure, and member countries eventually agreed on setting up a regional monetary
regime, the European Monetary System (EMS) in 1979.
Bretton Woods also set the institutional foundations for the establishment of three new
international economic organizations. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD) later became World Bank (WB), General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) later
became World Trade Organization (WTO) and International Monetary Fund (IMF)

4. International Financial Institutions

International Financial Institutions were founded by groups of countries to promote public and
private investment to foster economic and social development in developing and transitioning
countries.
The first International Financial Institutions, also known as Multilateral Development Banks
(MDBs), were established after World War II to help rebuild war-torn countries and manage the
global financial system. Later, regional development banks were founded to promote economic
growth and cooperation.

IFIs are owned and managed by national governments acting as borrowers, lenders or donors.
Example: World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF)
5. International Economic Cooperation Organizations
International economic and financial organizations provide the structure and funding for many
unilateral and multilateral development projects. Such organizations deal with the major
economic and political issues facing domestic societies and the international community as a
whole. Their activities promote sustainable private and public sector development primarily by:
financing private sector projects located in the developing world; helping private companies in
the developing world mobilize financing in international financial markets; and providing advice
and technical assistance to businesses and governments
The three major international economic organizations are the World Bank, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO emerged out of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1995; it is an arrangement across countries
that serves as a forum for negotiations on trading rules as well as a mechanism for dispute
settlements in trade issues.(1) By contrast, the World Bank and IMF deal with their member
countries one at a time. They have little influence with industrial countries but can affect
developing countries during times of economic crisis and when those countries seek additional
foreign exchange resources.
Convergence versus Divergence
Those in support of economic globalization emphasize its ability to foster universal economic
growth and development. Dollar and Kraay (2002) argue that only non-globalizer countries
failed to reduce absolute and relative poverty in the last few decades. On the other hand,
countries that have embraced globalization (proxied by trade openness) have benefited from
openness considerably.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

The World Bank (2002) claims that globalization can indeed reduce poverty but it definitely does
not benefit all nations.
Why are less developed regions unable to catch up with developed ones, as predicted by
standard economic theories such as the neoclassical Solow growth model, Bairoch (1993)
argues that while in the developed part of the world, industrial revolution and intensified
international relations reinforced growth and development on an unprecedented scale (as
compared to the previous era), the rest of the world did not manage to capitalize on these
processes. Reflecting upon the division of labour between developed and developing countries
in the nineteenth century, Bairoch claimed that ‘the industrialisation of the former led to the de-
industrialisation of the latter’ (1998: 11). The structural deficiencies of the world economy are
heavily emphasized by the so-called structuralists. Structuralism is a ‘cluster of theories which
emerged in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s … [and] share the idea that North and South are in a
structural relationship one to another; that is that both areas are part of a structure that
determines the pattern of relationships that emerges' (Brown, 2001: 197). The best known
critical approach to the prevailing social division of labour and global inequalities is offered by
‘world-systems analysis, which claims that capitalism under globalization reinforces the
structural patterns of unequal change. According to Wallerstein, capitalism, ‘a historical
social system”’ (1983: 13), created the dramatically diverging historical level of wages in the
economic arena of the world system. Thus, growing inequality, along with economic and political
dependence, are not independent at all from economic globalization. Accordingly,
underdevelopment (i.e. a persistent lack of economic growth and development, together with
impoverishment and even malnutrition) is not the initial stage of a historical and evolutionary
unilinear development process (as predicted by Rostow, 1960), but a consequence of
colonialism and imperialism. But while for Hobson (1902/2005) imperialism was a kind of
‘conscious policy’ adopted by leading capitalist nations, Wallerstein and his followers identified
imperialism as the product of the world capitalist system which has perpetuated unequal
exchange.
The modern capitalist system is unique in the sense that it created political structures that
guaranteed an endless appropriation and accumulation of surpluses from the poor (or the
periphery) to the emerging (or the semi-periphery) and in particular, the advanced industrialized
(or the core) countries. It is, however, not just that the periphery is dependent on the core: the
latter's development is also conditioned on the former. The link between these groups is
provided via trade and financial transactions, and is organized by a dense web of businessmen,
merchants, financial entrepreneurs and state bureaucrats. Globalization, the product of the long
process of capitalist development, is, therefore, nothing new for world-system analysts; it is
simply the relabelling of old ideas and concepts (Arrighi, 2005).

POLITICAL- ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

1. Capitalism: Under capitalism (aka market system), each individual or business works in its
own interest and maximizes its own profit based on its decisions. A market economy is one
where the allocation of resources and the trading of goods and services are through the
decentralized decisions of many firms and households.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

The market system fosters competition that generally produces the most efficient allocation of
resources. In pure capitalism, also known as laissez-faire capitalism, the government's role is
restricted to providing and enforcing the rules of law by which the economy operates, but it does
not interfere with the market. (Laissez-faire means "let it be.")

The essential characteristics of capitalism are that:

● the factors of production are privately owned;

● economic transactions take place in markets, where buyers
and sellers interact;
● businesses and employees are free to pursue their own self-
interest and are motivated to do so by the potential to earn a
profit;

2. Socialism: The definition of socialism varies widely, and many people use it synonymously
for communism, but it is often distinguished as an economic system between communism and
capitalism. Socialism also believes that wealth and income should be shared more equally
among people. Socialists differ from communists in that they do not believe that the workers will
overthrow capitalists suddenly and violently. Nor do they believe that all private property should
be eliminated. Their main goal is to narrow, not totally eliminate, the gap between the rich and
the poor. The government, they say, has a responsibility to redistribute wealth to make society
more fair and just.
Socialism is the social and economic doctrine opposite from Capitalism that espouses public
over private ownership and control of property and natural resources.

3. Communism: also known as a command system, is an economic system where the

government owns most of the factors of production and decides the allocation of resources and
what products and services will be provided.
The end goal of communism was to eliminate class distinctions among people, where everyone
shared equally in the proceeds of society, when government would no longer be needed.

There is no purely capitalist or communist economy in the world today. The capitalist United
States has a Social Security system and a government-owned postal service. Communist China
now allows its citizens to keep some of the profits they earn. These categories are models
designed to shed greater light on differing economic systems.

Teaching and Learning Activities

Activity 1
Make a chart comparing the different political-economic systems in terms of the following;

Capitalism Socialism Communism

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Property/Ownership Government

Government
intervention on
Economic Activities

Decision Making in Centralized

Allocation of
resources and price

Motivation driver Profit

Activity 2
Voice call recitation. Teacher may ask student randomly their own definitions of Economic
Globalization, Modern World System or the teacher may define a certain role of an economic
actor and student will identify it.
Recommended learning materials and resources for supplementary reading.
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]

Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) adopted

Online (synchronous) - Class collaboration through the GC/SeDi LMS
Remote (asynchronous) - Individual task/activity through module
Assessment Task
Individual Task 1: Read the part “Convergence Versus Divergence” (or may additionally
read [Link] and express your stand
(record via audio or video recording or in any form you are capable and comfortable with - song,
paint, draw, act, tiktok, voice call etc) about the statement “global free trade has done more
harm than good”. Limit your answer in not more than 15 sentences or not more than 2 minutes.

References
Benczes, István. 2014. Chapter 9 of textbook: “The Globalization of Economic Relations”
Wallerstein, Immanuel. 2004. “The Modern World-System as a Capitalist World Economy:
Production, SurplusValue, and Polarization.” In WorldSystems Analysis: An Introduction.
Durham & London: Duke University Press, pp. 23-4130.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Steger, Manfred B. 2003, Globalization, A very short Introduction. Oxford University Press

Chapter 3: MARKET INTEGRATION

International Economic and Political Organizations (3 hours)

Introduction
An international organization (intergovernmental organization) is
an organization established by a treaty or other instrument governed by international law and
possessing its own international legal personality, such as the United Nations and the World
Health Organization. It is widely believed that international organizations should be responsible
for the maintenance of international peace and stability, be this economic, social or political, and
that they should act in the interest of the international community. It provides security, trade
opportunities, and stronger global relationship possibilities. International organizations can also
provide smaller states an opportunity for stronger economic power. Their functions include
maintaining standards to ensure
safety, helping developing countries achieve economic security, and establishing norms
regarding how countries make trade agreements and resolve conflicts. Most importantly, it is
indispensable and represents the great hope of humanity for peace and progress, help
countries cooperate to make better living conditions for people and to
prevent international conflict and to facilitate cooperation among states.
This section presents the major international organizations and their economic and
political purposes in building stronger nations.
Learning Outcomes
1. Identify the different international economic and political organizations
2. Define the goals, objectives and activities of each organization.
3. Understand the global purpose of international organizations and its role in
strengthening the process of globalization.
Content

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS

Name of Year About the Organization Aims and Mem Activities

Organiz Estab Purposes ber –
ation li- coun
shed tries

WORLD 1944 Provider of financial and The bank 189 Dedicated to

BANK out of technical assistance to predominantly providing
(WB) the Br individual countries around acts as an financing,
etton the globe. organization that advice, and
Wood attempts to fight research to
s poverty by developing
Agree offering nations to aid
ment developmental their economic
assistance to advancement.
middle- and low-
income countries.
- ending extreme
poverty and
boosting shared
prosperity.

UNITED 1945 Committed to maintaining Responsible in 193 Maintenance of

NATION international peace and maintaining international
S (UN) security, developing friendly peace and peace and
relations security security,
among nations and among nations. promotion of
promoting social progress, the well-being
better living standards and of the people of
human rights. the world, and
international
cooperation.

EUROP NOV The European Union is The EU offers its 27 The union's
EAN 1, working towards citizens an area Euro purpose is to
UNION 1993 establishing a of freedom, pean promote peace,
(EU) by security union, security and coun establish a
the M making Europe more justice without tries unified
aastri secure by fighting terrorism internal borders. economic and
cht and serious crime and by The European monetary
Treat strengthening Europe's ext Union is set up system,
y ernal borders. with the aim of promote
ending the inclusion and
frequent and combat
bloody wars discrimination,

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

between break down

neighbours which barriers to trade
culminated in the and borders,
Second World encourage
War. technological
and scientific
developments,
champion
environmental
protection, etc.

WORLD July The World Trade The goal is to 164 Negotiating the
TRADE 29, Organization (WTO) is the help producers of reduction or
ORGAN 2016 only global international goods and elimination of
IZATIO organization dealing with services, obstacles to
N the rules of trade between exporters, and trade (import
(WTO) nations. importers conduct tariffs, other
their business. barriers to
The World Trade trade) and
Organization — agreeing on
the WTO — is the rules governing
international the conduct of
organization international
whose primary trade (e.g.
purpose is to antidumping,
open trade for the subsidies,
benefit of all. product
standards, etc.)

ASSOCI 8 The Association of To accelerate the 10 To provide

ATION Augu Southeast Asian Nations economic growth, assistance to
OF st (ASEAN) is a regional social progress each other in
SOUTH 1967 organization of 10 and cultural the form of
EAST Southeast Asian and Pacific development in training and
ASIAN Rim countries whose the region research
NATION governments collaborate to through joint facilities in the
S promote socio-cultural, endeavours in the educational,
(ASEAN economic, and political spirit of equality professional,
) advancement in the region and partnership in technical and
order to administrative
strengthen the spheres.
foundation for a
prosperous and
peaceful
community of
Southeast Asian

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Nations.

Asia- 1989 APEC operates Aim to create 21 APEC ensures

Pacific as a cooperative, greater prosperity that goods,
Economi multilateral economic and for the people of services,
c trade forum. the region by investment and
Coopera promoting people move
tion balanced, easily across
(APEC) inclusive, borders.
sustainable, Members
innovative and facilitate this
secure growth trade through
and by faster customs
accelerating procedures at
regional borders; more
economic favorable
integration. business
climates behind
the border; and
aligning
regulations and
standards
across the
region.

North 1994 Largest free trade The North 3 NAFTA

America agreement in the world. American Free eliminates tariff
n Free Trade Agreement s on imports an
Trade (NAFTA) was d exports
Agreem implemented in between the
ent order to promote three countries.
(NAFTA trade between the Tariffs are taxes
) U.S., Canada, used to make
and Mexico. foreign goods
more
expensive.
NAFTA created
specific rules to
regulate trade
in farm
products,
automobiles,
and clothing.

Internati Dec International Monetary It aims in 189 The IMF

onal 27, Fund (IMF) is an reducing global supports its

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Monetar 1945 organization working to poverty, membership

y Fund foster global monetary encouraging by providing
(IMF) cooperation, secure international
policy advice to
financial stability, facilitate.. trade, and
governments
promoting
and central
financial stability
banks based
and economic
on analysis of
growth.
economic
trends and
cross-country
experiences;
research,
statistics,
forecasts,
and analysis
based on
tracking of
global,
regional, and
individual
economies
and markets.

United Dec UNICEF works to reach the Devoted to aiding 190 UNICEF's
Nations 11, most disadvantaged national efforts to activities
Children 1946 children and adolescents – improve the include immuniz
's Fund and to protect the rights of health, nutrition, ations and
(UNICE every child, education, and disease
F) general welfare of prevention,
children. administering
treatment for
children and
mothers with
HIV, enhancing
childhood and
maternal
nutrition,
improving sanit
ation,
promoting educ
ation, and
providing emerg
ency relief in
response to
disasters.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

WORLD April WHO directs and WHO works 194 Main areas
HEALT 7, coordinates international worldwide to of work are
H 1948 health within the United promote health, health
ORGAN Nations system. keep the world systems;
IZATIO safe, and serve health
N the vulnerable. Its through the
(WHO) goal is to ensure life-course;
that a billion more noncommuni
people have cable and
universal health . communicab
le diseases;
preparednes
s,
surveillance
and
response;
and
corporate
services.

Teaching and Learning Activities

Activity 1
Research one international organization, how it was formed, its goals and objectives, and
highlight its major programs and accomplishments since it was established. What are its
greatest contributions in global politics, trade and economy? Present it through a diagram.

Recommended learning materials and resources for supplementary reading.

For supplementary material on international organizations, visit youtube link
[Link]
[Link]

Assessment Task
Quiz.
1. Briefly outline the main reasons that states choose to act through international organizations.
Explain how these motives vary depending on the issue areas that organizations may address.
Homework.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

1. Identify a current global problem and determine what international organization is responsible
for its solution. Why?

References
[Link]
[Link]

Chapter 4: Global Interstate System (2 hours)

Introduction

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

The state has traditionally been the subject of most interest scholars of global politics
because it is viewed as “the institution that creates warfare and sets economic policies of 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 Westphalia of 1648 established the notion of the nation-state and the idea of state
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 from all
sides.

With globalization, some scholars suggest a decrease in the power of the state and that
other actors are actually becoming more powerful. These actors include multinational
corporations and global civil society organizations, like Red Cross, that cross national
boundaries.

Is the idea of the nation-state outdated in the contemporary world? If so, what is it that
we need to think about as “replacements”? In this chapter, we will look at regional alliances and
worldwide organizations of states. This manifests the efforts of countries and governments in
the world to cooperate and collaborate together.

Learning Outcomes
1. Explain the effects of globalization on governments;
2. Identify the institutions that govern international relations; and
3. Differentiate informationalism from globalism

Content
Global Governance in the Twenty-First Century
There are series of specific factors behind the emergence of global 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 world. A second factor is the vast flows of all sorts of
things that run into and often right through the borders of nation-states. Another set of issues
that led to calls for global governance involves horrendous events within nation-states that the
states themselves either foment or carry out, or an unable to control (Nordstrom, 2004).
▪ Levy and Sznaider, 2006 – 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.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

▪ Nordstorm, 2004 – another set of issues that has led to calls for global governance
involves horrendous events within nation-states that the states themselves either foment
an carry out, or are unable to control.
▪ Bauman, 1998 – one could even go back to WWII and argue that the Holocaust could
have been prevented, or at least mitigated, had there been a viable form of global
governance to put pressure on Nazi Germany and ultimately, to intervene in a more
material way, perhaps militarily.

Nation-states have long struggled to deal with problems like these through various
interstate systems (e.g., alliances such as NATO), but the more recent trend is toward the
development of more truly global structures and methods of dealing with various sorts of issues
and problems.
Effects of Globalization to Governments
One of the key aspects of state sovereignty is the government. It is a group 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 borders. Each state is autonomous unto itself and responsible within
its own system of government to those who are governed. The decisions, and the conflict, and
the resolution of that conflict are done through institutions of government established and
codified in that particular state, whether or not through elections.
There have been several challenges to the government and ultimately, to state autonomy.
We can divide these challenges into four: traditional challenges, challenges from national or
identity movements, global economics, and global social movements.
* Traditional Challenges

External intervention can generally described as invasion by other countries. These days we
can see external intervention in other forms. Russia’s external intervention into the affairs of
Ukraine, a sovereign state in the post-Soviet era, is another instance of intervention in the
autonomy of the state.
Internal political challenges can also happen. There are also regional organizations
challenging state autonomy. The United Nations intervened in Sudan because of the several
years of civil war. More recently in Europe, specifically in Greece, it also interfered in the Greek
debt crisis.
* Challenges from National/Identity Movements

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. 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.
Global movements, such as the Al-Qaeda and ISIS, are another example of national or
identity movements. In this case, they are structured around the fundamentalist version of Islam.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

* Global Economics

Global economy demands the states to conform to the rules of free-market capitalism.
Neoliberal economics or neoliberal capitalism started in the 1980s. It focuses on free trade and
dismantling trade barriers. It requires a state to cooperate in global market through free flow of
capital, the privatization of services, and fiscal austerity or constraint.
A specific example to expand global economic influence is the use of IMF and the World
Bank in forcing government reforms in poorer country. Furthermore, the regional economic
development efforts focused on expanding free trade and market liberalization. Business from
developed countries put their factories and pays people to build factories and produce goods in
developing countries worldwide.
* Global Social Movements

Most of the time, they are not seen as a threat but definitely challenge state sovereignty.
Social Movements are movements of people that are spontaneous or that emerge through
enormous grassroots organization. These social movements are transnational movements
which means they occur across countries and across borders. Therefore, states have less
control over them.
For example, human rights movements create a public sentiment, value, and agenda. The
idea is that there are certain rights and states cannot neglect or generally, what we call human
rights. The environmental movement is another example of global social movements related to
public policy. A specific case is the so-called Blockadia or the state where social movements
emerging in local areas fight back as a response to the controlling efforts by the apparatus of
government to protect the interest of neoliberal capitalists.
The Relevance of the State
The state is a distinctive political community with its own set of rules and practices that is
more or less separate from other communities.
Four Elements of a State
▪ Permanent Population (People) – this population does not refer to a nomadic people
that move from one place to another in an indefinite time. It is strengthened by the
second element of a state, a defined territory.
▪ Territory – has clear boundaries. It is effectively controlled by the third element of the
state, government.
▪ Government – regulates relations among its own people and with other states.
▪ Sovereignty – state is formally constituted sovereign political structure encompassing
people, territory, and its institutions on the one hand, and maintaining its autonomy
from other states on the other hand.

It is important to differentiate the idea of nation and state. Nation refers to a people
rather than any kind of formal territorial boundaries or institutions. It is a collective identity
grounded on a notion of shared history and culture. State refers to the Philippine government,
the Philippine territory, and its internal and external sovereignty. This brings us the concept of

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

the nation-state. It is a territorially bounded sovereign institution that governs individuals sharing
a collective history, identity and culture.

▪ Gilpin, 2001 - variety of arguments are made including that nation-states

continue to be the major players on the global stage.
▪ Conley, 2002, pp. 378-399 – “retain at least some power in the face of
globalization”
▪ Mann, 2007, p. 472 – “their efficacy in the face of globalization” and that the
rumors of the demise of the nation-state are greatly exaggerated.
▪ Beland, 2008 – argued that “the role of the state is enduring – and even
increasing – in advanced industrial societies” (p. 48).
▪ Glassner, 2000 – the state does not only respond to these threats, but may also
exaggerate or create dangers, thereby making its citizens more insecure.
▪ Isikoff and Corn, 2006 – the United States even claimed that Iraq could kill
millions by using offshore ships to lob canisters containing lethal chemical or
biological material into American cities.

Institutions That Govern International Relations

There are several international organizations that governments of countries around 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.
* Peace Treatise and Military Alliances: The UN and NATO

The United Nations is one of the leading political organizations in the world
where nation-states meet and deliberate. Generally, it functions in four areas: military
issues, economic issues, environmental issues, and human protection.
▪ Military Issues – the Security Council tries to be the arbiter in ceasefires between
two sides. They can pass sanction like block trade with another country as a
punishment. The UN is not all about fights. It has a program called UNICEF or
United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund. Its primary goal is to help children
around the world.
▪ Economic Issues – the main focus of the UN is the reduction of global inequality.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cover a range of concerns for the
improvement of all aspects of life.
▪ Environmental Issues – such as pollution and hazardous waste, are addressed
through United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
▪ Human Protection – UN promotes human rights through different organizations
and mechanisms. Since 1948, human rights have been brought into the realm
international law. This is reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The UN is being criticized as being weak and is unable to stop wars. Because of this, the
next institution that we are going to discuss continues to play a big role in foreign conflicts. This
is NATO. It is a defensive treaty or military alliance between the United States, Canada, and 25

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

European countries. This treaty and international organization is based on the idea of collective
security. The countries in this organization basically agreed to combine their militaries and
announce to the world that if a country messes with one of its members, the other countries will
come to their defense.
* Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

Another example of an international organization that was developed out of war

is the Red Cross (Red Crescent in Muslim countries). It is considered as a non-
governmental organization (NGO). NGOs are not ties to any country. They provide
emergency relief such as food, water, and medical supplies for those whose homes or
towns have been destroyed by disaster or war. They also monitor the treatment of
prisoner of wars and go to conflicts to make sure that no war crimes are taking place.
The big Red Cross worn by NGOs is the identification that they are not soldiers.

In addition to the Red Cross, there are many NGOs dedicated to helping people
around the world. Doctors without borders provides free emergency healthcare in
disaster areas; Oxfam fights famine disease; Amnesty International speaks out for
human rights and political prisoners; and Save the Children helps kids get health care
and education.

* Global Economic Associations: The WTO and NAFTA

▪ WTO

It is made up of 162 countries around the world and was created with the goal of
increasing free trade. Countries, therefore, can buy and sell goods from one another
without placing taxes on imports or tariffs. In addition, tariffs are used to protect
business and companies inside their country. Though good in nature, WTO is not
without criticism. In fact, a protest in Seattle at 1999 WTO Conference led to a major
riot as some said that WTO was more about helping large companies and
corporations than it was about helping people.
▪ NAFTA

This is an economic treaty between the United States, Canada, and Mexico in
which the three countries trade freely without taxing each other. NAFTA is not
without critics either. Some American autoworkers protested against NAFTA as
several car companies moved their factories to Mexico in search for cheaper labor.
NAFTA, like WTO, represents the challenge in America of keeping manufacturing
factories.
* Globalization and Globalism

▪ Globalization – increase or decline degree of globalism (Nye, 2002, p. 1). It is

thicker than globalism; this means that being able to connect countries in the
world through a more dynamic and faster way is globalization.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

▪ Globalism – refers to the network of connections that transcends distances of

different countries in the world. Globalism is thin. As it becomes thicker,
globalization happens.

This is where globalization comes in. If we look at the global trade today, it has reached a
greater number of people around the world. Although, globalism and globalization are often
understood in terms of economy, Nye (2002) gave “four distinct dimensions of globalism:
economic, military, environmental, and social” (p. 2). Like economic globalism, the three other
dimensions also become thicker and faster as globalization intensifies. The enormous speed of
potential conflict and threat of nuclear war is an example of military globalism.
In terms of environmental globalism, global warming continues to accelerate. The last
dimension, social and cultural globalism, “involves movements and of people who carry ideas
and information with them” (Nye, 2002, p. 2).
With the advent of modern mass communication, computers, and social networking sites, it
seems that the connections made through the exchange of information create a new kind of
network in this contemporary world.
* Informationalism

Globalism is tied to the notion of networks. For Castells (2000), “networks

constitute the fundamental pattern of life, of all kinds of life” (p. 3). It was previously
mentioned that in the present and even in the past, the world is connected. The
difference between Globalization and Globalism is the speed and thickness or intensity
of connections.

The question now is about the type of connection that exists and begins to
increase in the contemporary world. The answer lies on the growth of binding force
among people, things, and places around the globe. This technological paradigm,
associated with computer science and modern telecommunication that replaces
industrialism is called informationalism (Castells, 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, exchanging information and knowledge, which is
clearly immaterial goods, becomes 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 particular” (Ritzer, 2015, p. 134), technology, media, and the
internet.
The creation of the world’s first container ship in 1995 and the expansion of
airfreight greatly hastened the transport of goods all around the world. But a notable
example of technological advancement is the founding of Federal Express (FedEX,
1970s). It makes use of computer technology in its deliveries.

Computer technology is used to check our health through the intervention of

magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs), ultrasound, and CT or CAT scans. Space-based
technologies were also made possible through the use of computers, (Ritzer, 2015). The

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

launching of satellites for military surveillance, the use of global positioning systems
(GPS), and the operation of global navigation systems (GNS) are some remarkable
examples.

McLuhan and Fiore (2005) argued that in the New Media Age, the importance
lies in the medium, the way in which the message is transmitted, not necessarily in the
content presented through the medium. This means that televisions, radios, the
newspapers have been shaping “individual subjectivity and culture, not only locally but
globally” (Ritzer, 2015, p. 143).

In addition, the French social theorist Guy Debord (1994) emphasized in his idea
of media spectacle the sophistication and ubiquity of spectacular visual in televisions.
This made TV news form of entertainment. Although content matters in television
broadcasts, visual spectacle or significance is an important element and perhaps the
primary key to catxh the attention of the audience.

When one mentions online social networking, spam, and computer viruses, it is
the Internet that binds them all. The internet is a mark of the contemporary world.
According to Ritzer (2015), “The Internet has prompted a flat world thesis; anyone can
be involved in it, at least theoretically” (p. 150). Having a computer today in our homes,
our schools, our workplaces, and accessing the Internet through our personal cellphones
allow us to be connected with the rest of the world. We can gain information by
accessing different websites, such as Facebook and Wikipedia, through the internet. In
the same manner, the information about ourselves that we share is also exposed. In
order to control Internet access and use, there are mechanisms such as personal
passwords or in the case of Chinese government, the “Great Firewall.”

While globalization allowed the expansion of information, access to modern

technologies is not a universal matter that is available to every person around the world.
The internet and other technologies are limited by certain barriers. These barriers
include lack of electricity, illiteracy, weak financial systems, and government regulations.

Teaching and Learning Activities

1. Examine the interaction between the nation-state and civil society, differentiating
between local and global society;

2. Is the civil society truly separated from the market? Can its “global feature aid in its
separation from the market or not?

3. Compare and contrast globalism and informationalism;

4. What are the emerging regions or nation-states in the world when it comes to economic
power? What does this ‘shift” in power shows? and

5. Will geopolitical boundaries and physical barriers still be relevant in the future given the
nature of informationalism?

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Recommended learning materials and resources for supplementary reading.

Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) adopted

Online (synchronous) - LMS
Remote (asynchronous) - Module
Assessment Task

References
Aldama, Prince Kennex R. (2018). “The Contemporary World”. Rex Book Store, Sampaloc,
Manila.
Alporha, Vernonica and John Lee Candelaria (2018) Readings in Philippine History. Rex Book
Store Inc., Sampaloc, Manila
Zaide, Sonia M. (2000) The Philippines: A Unique nation, History of the Republic of the
Philippines, Cubao, Quezon City.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Chapter 5: Contemporary Global Governance (3 hours)

Introduction
This chapter provides the political dimension of globalization by identifying key
players in global governance, its challenges and relevance amidst globalization.

Learning Outcomes
1. b. Identify and explain the elements of states
2. Explain thoroughly the challenges of global governance in the 20th century
3. Elaborately explain the relevance of the state and government amid globalization.

Content
Why is there a need to discuss Contemporary Governance? What is global governance?
When we speak about global governance, what exactly does “global governance” mean?
According to Robert Bailey, global governance refers to governance on a global scale.
While the concept seems simple in theory, it can take many forms in practice. National
governments come in many shapes and sizes. But global governance, as we shall see, is a
different beast altogether.
It is important to note that governance is not the same as government. A government is
a formal body that is solely responsible for governance of specific institutions within a
jurisdiction. Governance on the other hand typically refers to rules, institutions, and officials that
have the power to shape the behavior of actors in a system. For example, the enforcement of
laws and regulations as well as the provision of safety and services. It should be clear then, that
achieving governance with a global scale or impact doesn’t necessitate a single global
government. There is a continuum from negotiation between nations to broad-impact treaties
and agreements1 to trade/customs unions to political unions. These exist from a transnational all
the way up to a global scale.
On a global scale, this could be achieved the same way as on a national scale: one
monolithic, unitary government operating across the entire globe. All people would adhere to the
same rules and be answerable to the same final authority, and all people would rely on the
same institutions to provide safety and services. In other words, the whole world could unite as
a single country.
What is the importance of global governance?
Effective global governance will allow us to end armed conflict, deal with new and emerging
problems such as technological risks and automation, and to achieve levels of prosperity and
progress never before seen. The most important challenge for humanity to overcome is that of
existential risks.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Why do we need global governance?

September 5, 2018 Robert Bailey Future of Humanity, Governance, Social Change

Global governance is necessary because humanity increasingly faces both problems
and opportunities that are global in scale. Today, transnational problems such as violence and
pandemics routinely reach across borders, affecting us all.
The increasingly integrated global system has also laid the necessary foundations for
peace and spectacular prosperity. Effective global governance will allow us to end armed
conflict, deal with new and emerging problems such as technological risks and automation, and
to achieve levels of prosperity and progress never before seen.
The most important challenge for humanity to overcome is that of existential risks. One
way to look at the danger of an existential risk is to quantify the level of global coordination
needed to deal with it. While best-shot risks, at one end of the spectrum only require that a
single nation, organization or even individual (i.e., superhero) has the means and the will to
save everyone, weakest-link risks, at the other end of the spectrum, are dangers that might
require literally every country to take appropriate action to prevent catastrophe, with no room for
failure.2 3
The risk of natural disaster, but with advances in our level of technology the risk we
pose to ourselves as a species becomes ever greater. Nuclear weapons are a well-known risk
that we still live with to this day. The progress of technological research exposes us to new
dangers such as bioengineered superbugs, nanotechnological menaces, and the risk of an out-
of-control artificial intelligence with ill-intent. Increased levels of global coordination are needed
to combat many of these risks, as described in our article on the cooperation possibilities
frontier.
There are other problems that don’t necessarily threaten the species or even civilization
as we know it, but which are holding back the development of prosperity and progress. Armed
conflict, around since the dawn of history, still haunts us today. Even though wars between
great powers appear to be a thing of the past, regional conflicts still account for tremendous
human suffering and loss of life in parts of the world without stable governance.4
Other problems have emerged precisely because of our successes in the past. The
unprecedented advancement of human wellbeing and prosperity over the past century has been
based in large part on the use of fossil fuels, thus exposing us to climate change. Widespread
automation, already a stressor on society, will put increased pressure on the social and
economic fabric of our societies over the next few decades. Global governance can help
alleviate these issues in various.
Finally, global governance will increasingly be judged not only by the extent to which it
prevents harm, but also by its demonstrated ability to improve human wellbeing. Progress has
let us set our sights higher as a species, both for what we consider to be the right trajectory for
humanity and for our own conduct.6 Major advances in human wellbeing can be accomplished
with existing technology and modest improvements in global coordination.
Effective global governance is global governance that tackles these issues better
than the regional governments of the world can independently. Global governance is key to
solving global problems. Without it, we may not be able to avoid weakest-link existential risks or

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

regulate new and dangerous technologies. With it, we may be able to prosper as we never have
before. The next step is to determine how effective global governance can be achieved.
THE ROLE OF UNITED NATIONS TO GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
The United Nations governing body and its institutions constitute a framework that
allows for global governance. It fits the definition because it allows for a democratic framework
of voting on regulations that apply globally, it provides a safety net to prevent or respond to wars
and humanitarian crises, and is funded by nations which are a part of it. This structure allows for
an array of institutions and services that provide everything from consulting, advisory, justice,
humanitarian aid, education, information, and so on. In theory, it could provide much more, and
on a global scale.
In fact, the United Nations (UN) is the closest thing we have to a global government.
Today, it contains the closest approximations that the world has to a constitution (the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights); a set of deliberative lawmaking bodies (the General Assembly
and Councils); a police system among nations (the Security Council); and an executive branch
(the UN bureaucracies).

Why do we need global governance?

The goal of global governance - is to provide global public goods, particularly peace and
security, justice and mediation systems for conflict, functioning markets and unified standards
for trade and industry. One crucial global public good is catastrophic risk management – putting
appropriate mechanisms in place to maximally reduce the likelihood and impact of any event
that could cause the death of 1 billion people across the planet, or damage of equivalent
magnitude.

The leading institution in charge of global governance today is the United Nations. It
was founded in 1945, in the wake of the Second World War, as a way to prevent future conflicts
on that scale. The United Nations does not directly bring together the people of the world, but
sovereign nation states, and currently counts 193 members who make recommendations
through the UN General Assembly. The UN’s main mandate is to preserve global security,
which it does particularly through the Security Council. In addition the UN can settle
international legal issues through the International Court of Justice, and implements its key
decisions through the Secretariat, led by the Secretary General.

The United Nations has added a range of areas to its core mandate since 1945. It
works through a range of agencies and associated institutions particularly to ensure greater
shared prosperity, as a desirable goal in itself, and as an indirect way to increase global
stability. As a key initiative in that regard, in 2015, the UN articulated the Sustainable
Development Goals, creating common goals for the collective future of the planet.

Beyond the UN, other institutions with a global mandate play an important role in global
governance. Of primary importance are the so-called Bretton Woods institutions: the World
Bank and the IMF, whose function is to regulate the global economy and credit markets. Those
institutions are not without their critics for this very reason, being often blamed for maintaining
economic inequality.

Global governance is more generally effected through a range of organizations acting as

intermediary bodies. Those include bodies in charge of regional coordination, such as the

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

EU or ASEAN, which coordinate the policies of their members in a certain geographical zone.
Those also include strategic or economic initiatives under the leadership of one country – NATO
for the US or China’s Belt and Road Initiative for instance – or more generally coordinating
defense or economic integration, such as APEC or ANZUS. Finally, global governance relies on
looser norm-setting forums, such as the G20, the G7, the World Economic Forum: those do not
set up treaties, but offer spaces for gathering, discussing ideas, aligning policy and setting
norms. This last category could be extended to multi-stakeholder institutions that aim to align
global standards, for instance the Internet Engineering Taskforce (IETF) and the World Wide
Web Consortium (W3C).

In summary, global governance is essential but fragmented, complex and little understood. In
this context, the key questions raised by the Global Challenges Foundation are, how to reform
institutions, how to develop alternative institutions, and how to use the new possibilities of
technology to improve governance.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF A GLOBAL GOVERNMENT

Advantages:

1. Open borders. No need for tariffs, immigration, customs, etc.

2. Military could be downsized to a force large enough to deal with terrorists and local
squabbles.
3. Consistent policies worldwide. No more concerns about tax rates vs. health care vs.
individual freedoms from one country to the next.
4. Immense tax savings due to the economy of scale. Only fund one complete government
as opposed to a hundred.

Disadvantages:

1. No proper way to account for cultural differences. One set of laws will never agree with
everyone. Americans like going to the pistol range to shoot targets. Indians prefer traffic
laws that are very different from the western world. Developing economies have a relaxed
view of corporate and individual liabilities. Thais and Saudis take pride in their kings.

2. Lack of competition between nations. Professionals and skilled workers will leave a
country that restricts their progress. If there is only one country, the sole outlet for dissent is
revolution.

History of the United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War
by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly
relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human
rights.

Due to its unique international character, and the powers vested in its founding Charter,
the Organization can take action on a wide range of issues, and provide a forum for its 193

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Member States to express their views, through the General Assembly, the Security Council, the
Economic and Social Council and other bodies and committees.

The work of the United Nations reaches every corner of the globe. Although best known
for peacekeeping, peacebuilding, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance, there are
many other ways the United Nations and its System (specialized agencies, funds and
programmes) affect our lives and make the world a better place.

The Organization works on a broad range of fundamental issues, from sustainable

development, environment and refugees protection, disaster relief, counter terrorism,
disarmament and non-proliferation, to promoting democracy, human rights, gender equality and
the advancement of women, governance, economic and social development and international
health, clearing landmines, expanding food production, and more, in order to achieve its goals
and coordinate efforts for a safer world for this and future generations.

The search for peace culminated in the form of the UNITED NATIONS after World War
II. From April 25 to June 26, 1945, delegates from 50 nations met at San Francisco to draft a
charter for the United Nations. Later, many other countries joined United Nations. The United
Nations officially came into existence on October 24, 1945, when its charter had been ratified by
China, France, the USSR, the UK and US, and by a majority of other signatories. This day every
year is celebrated as the UN day the world over.
THE PRINCIPLES OF UNITED NATION
It is based on the sovereign equality of all its members.
2. All members are to fulfil in faith their charter obligations.
3. They are to settle their international disputes by peace.
4. They are to refrain from the threat or use of force against other state.
5. They are to give the United Nations every assistance in every action it takes in accordance
with the charter.
6. Nothing in the charter is to Authorized the United Nations to intervene in matters which are
essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.
The United Nation has 4 main purposes

● To keep peace throughout the world;

● To develop friendly relations among nations;
● To help nations work together to improve the lives of poor people, to conquer hunger,
disease and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms;
● To be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations to achieve these goals

THE MAIN ORGAN OF UNITED NATIONS

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

1. The general assembly

2. The Security Council
3. The secretariat
4. The trusteeship council
5. The economic and social council
6. The International court of justice

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

-is the main deliberative organ. The general assembly is like the world parliament. It
ordinarily meets once a year unless there is some emergency for a special session. Decisions
are making by a two-third majority. Composed of all United Nations member states, the
assembly meets in regular yearly session under a president elected from among the member
states. The first session was convened on 10 January, 1946 in the Westminster central hall in
London and included representatives from 51 Nations.
THE SECURITY COUNCIL

-is in- charged with maintaining peace and security among countries. The Security
Council has the power to make binding decisions that member Governments have agreed to
carry out, under the terms of charter. The decisions of the council are known as UNITED
NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS. The Security Council comprises five
permanent members -United States, Britain, and France, Russia and China and ten non-
permanent members, who are elected for two years by general assembly. The permanent
members have the power to veto any of the decisions of SC (Security Council).

THE SECRETARIAT

-is headed by the secretary-general, assisted by a staff of international civil servants

worldwide. It provides studies, information, and facilities needed by United Nations bodies for
their meeting. It also carries out tasks as directed by the UN Security Council, The UN bodies.
The United Nations charter provides that the staff be chosen by application of the “highest
standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity” with due regard for the importance of
recruiting on the wide geographical basis. The charter provides that the staff shall not seek or
receive instructions from any authority other than the UN member country is enjoined to respect
the international character of the secretariat and not seek to influence its staff.

The secretary-general alone is responsible for staff-selection. The secretary general’s

duties include helping resolve international disputes, administering peacekeeping operations,
organizing international conferences, gathering information on the implementation on the
security council decisions, and consulting with member Governments regarding various
initiatives. The secretary-general may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter
that, in his or her opinion, may threaten international peace and security.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

THE TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL

-aims in helping countries under foreign rule to attain independence. There were eleven
such countries that had come under this system after the Second World War. By 1994, all trust
territories had attained independence. The last to do was the Palau, which became the 185 th
member state of the UN

THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

-assist the general assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation
and development. ECOSOC has 54 members, all of which are elected by the general assembly
for a three-year term. The president is elected for one-year term and chosen among the small or
middle powers represented on ECOSOC. ECOSOC meets once a year in July for a four-week
session. Since 1998, it has held another meeting each April with finance minister heading key
committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Viewed separate from the
specialized bodies coordinates, ECOSOC’s functions include information gathering, advising
member nations, and making recommendations. In addition, ECOSOC is well positioned to
provide policy coherence and coordinate the overlapping functions of the UN’s subsidiary and it
is in these roles that it is the most active.

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

consist of 15 judges elected by the Security Council and the general assembly for a term
of nine years. Each one of them has to be from different country.
The court gives advisory opinion on legal matters to the organs and special agencies of the UN
when solicited. It also considers legal disputes brought before it by nations.
SPECIALIZED AGENCIES OF UN
1. INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION
[Link] AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION
[Link] NATIONS, EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ARGANIZATION
[Link] HEALTH ORGANIZATION
5. WORLD BANK
6. INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
7. INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ERGANIZATION
8. UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION
[Link] TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
10. INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANISATION
[Link] METEOROLOGICAL ORGANISATION
12. WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANISATION
[Link] FUN FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
14. UN INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION
15. INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
16. WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION

SPECIALIZED BODIES OF UN

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

1. UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN FUND (UNICEF)

2. UN CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD)
[Link] DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP)
4. UN INSTITUTE FOR TRAINING AND RESEARCH (UNITAR)
5. UN ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP)
[Link] UNIVERSITY (UNU)
7. WORLD FOOD COUNCIL (WFC)
8. UNITED NATIONS VOLUNTEERS (UNV)
9. UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND (UNFPA)
10. UN OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME (UNODC)
11. UN HUMAN SETTLEMENT PROGRAMME (UN-HABITAT)
12. UN INSTITUTE FOR DISARMANENT RESEARCH
13. UN RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (UNRISD)
14. UN INTER-REGIONAL CRIME AND JUSTICE RESEARCH INSTITURE (UNICRI)

SOME HUMANITARIAN ACTIVITIES OF UN

1. Treaty on cybercrime on November 23, 2001 representatives of 30 countries met in the
Budapest and signed the first ever international treaty on criminal offences committed in the
internet.

2. UN Resolution 1973- effort to nab terrorism

following the global demand to act against terrorists and states that support or harbour them,
the UN unanimously passed the resolution.

3. Millennium summit
at the summit, held at UN Headquarters from 6 to 8 September 2000, world leaders established
clear direction for the organization in the new century. The millennium declaration targets for
poverty, disease and environment issues.

4. Protecting children in war

the general assembly in 2000 adopted a draft to the convention on the right of the child, under
which states parties agree to raise the age limit for both compulsory recruitment and
participation in combat from 15 to 18.

5. UN secretary General Ban-Ki Moon urges greater efforts to feed world’s hungry amid
ongoing recession.

6. UN refugee agency calls on Kenya to stop forced return Somali asylum seekers.

7. UN rural development arm to help poor farmers in Tajikistan.

You may open this Link for more Information

[Link]
q=the+different+functions+of+United+Nations&rlz=1C1GCEB_enPH

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

What is the importance of global governance?

Effective global governance will allow us to end armed conflict, deal with new and emerging
problems such as technological risks and automation, and to achieve levels of prosperity and
progress never before seen. The most important challenge for humanity to overcome is that of
existential risks.

Teaching and Learning Activities

Activity 1
Direction: Fill the following boxes with a correct organization structure.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Give the specific role of each Principal Organs of the United Nations

Essay: In your own words and opinion, please elaborate your answers on the following essay
questions.
1. What is the role of United Nations to global governance?
2. Why is there a need for a global governance in this contemporary world?

Recommended learning materials and resources for supplementary reading.

[Link]
[Link]
q=the+different+functions+of+United+Nations&rlz=1C1GCEB_enPH
Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) adopted
Online (synchronous) - LMS
Remote (asynchronous) - Module
Assessment Task
. In your own words, elaborate your answers on the disadvantages and advantages of a
global government.

Advantages Your own Explanation

Open borders. No need for

tariffs, immigration, customs,
etc.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Military could be
downsized to a force
large enough to deal
with terrorists and local
squabbles.

3. Consistent policies
worldwide. No more
concerns about tax rates
vs. health care vs.
individual freedoms from
one country to the next.

4. Immense tax savings

due to the economy of
scale. Only fund one
complete government as
opposed to a hundred.

DISADVANTAGES

No proper way to account for

cultural differences.

Lack of competition between

nations.

References
1. Hale, T., Held, D. and Young, K., 2013. Gridlock: why global cooperation is failing when
we need it most. Hale et. all frame global governance as the solution to the issue of
major world power’s inability to coordinate
2. Hirshleifer, J., 1983. From Weakest-Link to Best-Shot: The Voluntary Provision of Public
Goods. Public choice, 41[3], pp.371-386.
3. Barrett, S., 2005. The Problem of Averting Global Catastrophe. Chi. J. Int’l L., 6, p.527.
4. Pinker, S., 2012. The better angels of our nature: Why violence has declined. Penguin
Books.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

5. Harack, B., Laskowski, K., Bailey, R., Marcotte, J., Jaques, S., Datta, D., and Kuski, S.,
2017. Ruling Ourselves: The deliberate evolution of global cooperation and governance.
Available online: [Link]
6. United Nations, 2000. Millennium development goals. Available
online: [Link]
7. Lopez-Claros, A., Groff, M., Dahl, A., Global Governance and the Emergence of Global
Institutions for the 21st Century, 2017. Peace, governance, and civilization: Reflections on
the Paris Peace Forum

Chapter 7: Asian Regionalism (6 hours)

Introduction
The world of today is speedily transforming from a world of states into a world of
regions and states; over the past decade the role played by regions in both local and global
governance has undergone transformations. This lesson will help the students to widen their
knowledge about regionalism and its relationship to globalization and to determine the possible
factors leading to greater integration of the Asian region.
Learning Outcomes
1. Distinguish regionalization from globalization;
2. Determine the factors prominent to a greater integration of the Asian region; and
3. Discuss how different Asian states confront the challenges of globalization and
regionalization.

Content
Globalization can be defined as the intensification of economic, political, social, and
cultural relations across borders (Holm and Sorensen 1995). In this sense it includes more than
the geographical extension of a range of phenomena and issues. It suggests not only a
significant intensification of global connectedeness but also a consciousness of that
intensification, with a concomitant diminution in the significance of territorial boundaries
(Bretherton 1996).

The term regionalism refers to the proneness of the governments and peoples of two or more
states to create voluntary associations and to pool together resources (material and
nonmaterial) in order to create common functional and institutional arrangements. Moreover,
regionalism can be best described as a method occurring in a given geographical region by
which different types of actors (states, regional institutions, societal organizations and other
nonstate actors) come to share certain fundamental values and norms. These actors also

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

participate in a growing network of economic, cultural, scientific, diplomatic, political, and military
interactions (Mace and Therien 1996)

There are three possible options regarding the mutual relations between regionalization and
globalization, especially in the economic dimension: (1) regionalization as a component of
globalization (convergent trends); (2) regionalization as a challenge or response to globalization
(divergent trends); (3) regionalization and globalization as parallel processes (overlapping
trends).
Evolution of Asian regionalism
Regionalism is an inspirational enterprise in human history. As well as being inspirational, we
can even say that it is quietly revolutionary since it involves the reorganization of political,
economic, cultural, and social lives along the lines of an imagined region rather than according
to the standard political unit of the nation-state.
In order to understand the ideas of regionalism in Asia and speculate about the future of Asian
regionalism, it will be most helpful to trace the evolution of Asian regionalism using four
benchmarks: 1968, 1989, 1997, and 2010 (Shiraishi, 2011).
In 1968, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was born with five original members:
Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. The primary goal of the ASEAN,
as far as the United States and its friends were concerned, was to consolidate Southeast Asia
against communism, which was raging in the form of the Vietnam War. Its focus was on
security. The ASEAN was an outgrowth of the stillborn SEATO idea, which was envisaged as a
type of Asian NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) organization against communism. In
1989, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting was institutionalized with the
goal of monitoring and analyzing regional markets and institutions as well as governing rules
and norms for facilitating transparent and introduction to ideas of asian regionalism 167 efficient
business transactions in the region. Its focus was economic and its style was technocratic. It
was in a sense the growth of the idea of the Asia Pacific economic cooperation mechanism
envisaged by Saburo Okita and John Crawford in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1989, the APEC was
born with the United States’ strong support.
In 1997, the ASEAN plus Three (Japan, Korea, and China) was instituted. Japan, Korea, and
China were major economic engines. Both the ASEAN and the Three wanted to benefit from
being closer each other. No less important was the consideration to help the Three to talk to
each other regularly and without too much fuss. The Three were at odds when they came
together as a trio because of their insistence on face, rank, and politics before they even
reached the negotiation table. For example, during negotiations it was necessary to use a room
with three entrances and a desk of a triangular shape. In the 2000s, the tide of globalization
swept through East and Southeast Asia as well as the rest of the world. The Three registered
more than 50% of their total trade as intraregional (i.e., Japan, Korea, and China) by the early
2000s. Japan and China competed over how to adapt to the relentless tide of globalization via
the politics of membership, that is China’s insistence on the ASEAN plus Three formula versus
Japan’s new proposal to form the ASEAN plus Six (Japan, Korea, China, India, Australia, and
New Zealand) now labelled the East Asian Summit.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

In 2010, the East Asian Summit decided to add two more members, the United States and
Russia. This has initiated a new phase for Asian regionalism. The regionalism surrounding the
big northeast Asian three is becoming more comprehensive. In 2006, the Trans Pacific
Partnership (TPP) proposal was inaugurated as an economic partnership agreement among
small Asia Pacific countries such as Singapore. The TPP grew by 2010 into a large and
ambitious framework to liberalize economic transactions in the Asia Pacific through adding new
members, including the United States, Australia, and some other countries. The year 2010 was
also marked by the vigorous and deep advances into the region by two giants, China and the
United States. China engaged in assertive and largely unilateral actions in the region, such as
maritime security thrusts in the East China, South China, and Bengal seas; resource
exploitation in Myanmar, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia; and investment in business firms in
Korea and Japan. The United States decided to depart from its ambiguity strategy to focus on
an engagement strategy. The United States has inaugurated and/or consolidated security
dialogues and military exchanges with India, Indonesia, and Vietnam with a big package of
scientific, technological, military, and energy components. It is clear that by 2010 the stage was
set for a new evolution of Asian regionalism.

Teaching and Learning Activities

Activity 1.
A. Discuss the relationship of Regionalization and Globalization in terms of the following:
(1) regionalization as a component of globalization (convergent trends);
(2) regionalization as a challenge or response to globalization (divergent trends); and
(3) regionalization and globalization as parallel processes (overlapping trends).

Open the link for more ideas ( Regionalism, Globalization and

Aationalism-[Link]
B. Answer the following questions.
1. How Regional cooperation can help Asia address regional challenges as well as provide
stronger foundations for its global role?
2. How Asian regionalism can benefit the world?
Open the link for more ideas( Asian Regionalism: Context and Scope-
[Link]

Recommended learning materials and resources for supplementary reading.

1. Further development of Asian regionalism: institutional hedging in an uncertain era-
[Link]
2. Economic regionalism [Link]

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

3. Why Asian Regionalism Matters- [Link]

asian-regionalism-matters
4. Conceptualising Asian regionalism- [Link]
5. Introduction to Ideas of Asian
Regionalism-[Link]
ian_Regionalism

Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) adopted

Online (synchronous) - Class collaboration through the GC/SeDi LMS
Remote (asynchronous) - Individual task/activity through module

Assessment Task
A. TRUE or FALSE: Read and analyze the following statements, write TRUE if
statement is correct and write false if the statement is wrong.
_______1. Regionalism plays a constructive role in providing visions of what a regional
community should look like and in setting up guiding principles for creating and organizing a
regional community.
_______2. Asian regionalism is the product of economic interaction, not political planning.
_______3. Regionalism encompasses deepening interdependence in various spheres of
economic activity and widening cooperative efforts to limited countries and it doesn’t support the
global economy since it is regional in aspect.
_______4. Asian regionalism could bring huge benefits for Asian countries only, not to the
world.
_______5. ASEAN is a product of this Regionalism.

B. Essay. Answer the following questions.

1. How different Asian states confront the challenges of globalization and regionalization?
2. What are the factors leading to a greater integration of the Asian region? Discuss.

References
The contemporary World: De Ocampo, 2018. St Andrew Publishing House

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Shiraishi, Takashi (2011), ‘Ajiia Taiheiyo renkei eno fukki (Returning to the Asia Pacific
Partnership)’, Yomiuri shimbun, 6 February
Regionalism, Globalization and
Aationalism-[Link]
Asian Regionalism: Context and Scope-
[Link]

Chapter 8: Global Media Cultures (3 hours)

Introduction
This chapter explores the definition of Global Media Culture, its relationship to
globalization. It also explores the evolution of media and globalization, how the media drives
various form of global integration and the dynamics between global and local cultural
production.

Learning Outcomes
1. Define Global Media Cultures
2. Identify the relationship of globalization and media
3. Identify the evolution of media and globalization
4. Analyze how various media drive various forms of global integration
5. Explain the dynamic between Global and Local cultural production

Content
Global Media Cultures explores the relationship between the media, culture and
globalization. This topic approaches part and current challenges concerning international
communication and explores and problematizes the power of media representation.
Globalization and media have created the conditions through which many people can now
imagine themselves as part of one world.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

It is made easier for advocates of globalization to reach larger audience through media such as:
1. Television programs
2. Social media groups
3. Books
4. Movies
5. Magazines

The Evolution of Media and Globalization

1. Oral Communication
It allowed sharing of information.
Language allowed human to communicate and cooperate.
2. Script
Script allowed human to communicate over a larger space and much longer times.
3. Printing press
This is where information revolution started.
It transformed social institutions such as schools, churches, governments and more.
4. Electronic Media
Radio and Television are part of these media.
Radio quickly became a global medium, reaching distant regions.
Television is considered as the most powerful and pervasive mass media. It brought
together the visual and audio power of the film with the accessibility of radio.
5. Digital media
Many of our earlier media such as phones and Televisions are now considered digital
media.
The media have a very important impact on cultural globalization in two mutually
interdependent ways: Firstly, the media provide an extensive transnational transmission of
cultural products and, secondly, they contribute to the formation of communicative networks and
social structures. The rapidly growing supply of media products form an international media
culture presents a challenge to existing local and national cultures. The sheer volume of the
supply, as well as the vast technological infrastructure and financial capital that pushes this
supply forward, have a considerable impact on local patterns of cultural production. Global
media cultures create a continuous cultural exchange, in which crucial aspects such as identity,
nationality, religion, behavioral norms and way of life are continuously questioned and
challenged. These cultural encounters often involve the meeting of cultures with a different
socio-economic base, typically a transnational and commercial cultural industry on one side and
a national, publicly regulated cultural industry on the other side.
Due to their very structure, global media promote a restructuring of cultural and social
communities. The media such as the press, and later radio and tv have been very important
institutions for the formation of national communities. Global media support the creation of new
communities. The Internet, for example, not only facilitates communication across the global,
but also supports the formation of new social communities in which members can interact with
each other. And satellite tv and radio allow immigrants to be in close contact with their
homeland’s language and culture while they gradually accommodate to a new cultural
environment. The common point of departure is the assumption that a series of international

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

media constitutes a global cultural supply in itself and serves as an independent agency for
cultural and social globalization, in which cultural communities are continuously restructures and
redefined. (source: website)
In other words, media cultures take part in the process of globalization, including how
they challenge existing cultures and create new and alternative symbolic and cultural
communities.
Global imaginary and Global Village
Media have linked the globe with stories, images, myths and metaphors.

Global imaginary
The globe itself as imagined community.

Various Forms of Global Integration

Global integration is not a new phenomenon in today’s contemporary world. Trade took
place between distant civilizations even in ancient times. This globalization process in the
economic domain has not always proceeded smoothly has it benefited all whom it was offered,
but, despite occasional interruptions, such as the collapse of the Roman Empire or during the
interwar period in this century, the degree of economics integration among different societies
around the world has generally been rising in the past half century, and ever greater than it has
been and is likely to improve.
There are three (3) factors that have affected the process of economic globalization.
These are:
1. Improvements in transportation and communication technology have reduced the cost of
transporting goods, services and factors of production and communicating economically
useful knowledge and technology
2. Tastes of individuals and, societies have generally but not universally, favored taking
advantage of the opportunities provided by declining costs of transportation and
communication through increasing economic integration.
3. The character and pace of economic integration have been significantly influenced by
public policies, although it is not always in the direction of increasing economic
integration.

Thus, technology, tastes and public policy have important influence on the pattern and
pace of economies in its various dimensions.
Dynamics of Local and Global Culture
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 cultural flows. These
are cultural differentialism, hybridization, and convergence.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

CULTURAL DIFFERENTIALISM emphasizes the fact that cultures are essentially different and
are only superficially affected by global flows. It also Involves barriers that prevent flows that
serve to make cultures more aline; cultures tend to remain stubbornly different from one
another.

One good example of cultural differentialism is the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the subsequent
wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. To many people, these events are seen as the product of a clash
between Western and Islamic culture and the eternal differences between them.

This is significant because the concept of cultural diffferentialism emphasizes lasting differences
among and between cultures largely unaffected by globalization or any trans-cultural flows. As
seen in the example, clashing cultures can have a huge impact on both cultures, countries and
the entire world.
Cultural Hybridization is a process by which a cultural element blends into another culture by
modifying the element to fit cultural norms. It is actually an integration of local and global
cultures. A key concept is “glocalization” or the interpenetration of the global and local resulting
in unique outcomes in different geographic areas.
And lastly, cultural convergence approach stresses homogeneity introduced by globalization.
Cultures are deemed to be radically altered by strong flows, while cultural imperialism happens
when one culture imposes itself on and tends to destroy at least parts of another culture. One
important critique of cultural imperialism is John Tomlinson’s idea of “deterritorialization” of
culture. Deterritorialization means that it is much more difficult to tie culture to a specific
geographic point of origin.

Teaching and Learning Activities

Activity 1
Pick a partner from the class and then pick an Asian musical artst or group that became
internationally famous. In your output, answer the following questions:
1. Where did the musical artist originated?
2. In which countries did the artist become famous?
3. How did the artist become famous?
4. Why do you think the artist become famous?

Recommended learning materials and resources for supplementary reading.

Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) adopted
Online (synchronous) –
Remote (asynchronous) - module
Assessment Task

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

References
Abinales et al. , 2018, The Contemporary World
Ariola, 2018, The Contemporary World
Aldama, 2018, The Contemporary World
Global and International Studies

Chapter 9: Globalization of Religion (3 hours)

Introduction
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 state. Cecilia
Johanna van Peski (
Learning Outcomes
1. Articulate a personal definition of global citizenship
2. Appreciate the ethical obligations of global citizenship

Content

As Obadia (2010) argues, theorizing religion and globalization has been subject to two different
lines of interpretation: globalization of religion versus globalization and religion.

Globalization of Religion

In this, the fundamental research question pertains to the spread of religions and specific genres or
forms or blueprints of religious expression across the globe. Beyer (2006) proposes that the very notion

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

of what constitutes a ‘religion’, as commonly understood, is the product of a long-term process of inter-
civilizational or cross-cultural interactions.

Globalization and Religion

In this second, the position and place of religion is problematized within the context of globalization.
This problematic concerns the relations and the impact of globalization upon religion. From this point
of view, even religions that are not conventionally considered ‘global’ such as Eastern Orthodox
Christianity ; are nevertheless influenced by globalization; These face up to the global condition and
reshape their institutional practices and mentalities (Agadjanian and Roudometof, 2005). In so doing,
religious institutions generally tend to adopt either strategies of cultural defense or strategies of active
engagement with globality (Roudometof, 2008). Although a religion can reject globalizing trends and
impulses, it is nevertheless shaped by them and is forced to respond to new-found situations. This
problematic incorporates notions of resacralization as a response to secularizing agendas and views
instances of transnational nationalism cloaked in religious terms as cultural expressions stimulated by
globalization (for examples, see Danforth, 2000; Zubrzycki, 2006). This second problematic does not
necessarily address the historicity of globalization; in large part because it is concerned with theorizing
contemporary events and trends

Transnational Religion and Multiple Glocalizations

Transnational studies emerged gradually since the 1990s in connection to the study of post-World War II
new immigrants or trans-migrants who moved from Third World and developing countries into
developed First World nations. New immigrants no longer assimilated into the cultures of the host
countries but rather openly maintained complex links to their homelands, thereby constructing,
reproducing and preserving their transnational ties. International migration has provided the means to
theorize the relationship between people and religion in a transnational context (Casanova, 2001;
Ebaugh and Chafetz, 2002; Hagan and Ebaugh, 2003; Levitt, 2003, 2004; van der Veer, 2002).

Concomitant with the movements of peoples, the migration of faiths across the globe has been a major
feature of the world throughout the twentieth century. One of these features is the ‘deterritorialization’
of religion (Casanova, 2001; Martin, 2001; Roy, 2004); that is, the appearance and, in some instances,
the efflorescence of religious traditions in places where these previously had been largely unknown or
were at least in a minority position. Transnational religion emerged through the post-World War II
spread of several religions; of which perhaps the most prominent example is the explosion of
Protestantism in the hitherto solidly Catholic Latin America. The extensive and widely publicized debates
over the public presence of Islam in Europe are but the most visible manifestation of this process (see
Bjorgo, 1997; Raudvere, Stala, and Willert, 2012). As Modood (1997: 2) notes, ‘Muslims are now
emerging as the critical ’“other” in various nationalist discourses and in definitions of Europe in Western
Europe', even in Scandinavian countries, where there is hardly any historical encounter with Muslims.

To the extent that the very label of transnational religion is a means of describing solutions to new-
found situations that people face as a result of migration, it comes as two quite distinct blends of
religious universalism and local particularism. First, it is possible for religious universalism to gain the
upper hand, whereby religion becomes the central reference for immigrant communities. In such

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

instances, religious transnationalism is often depicted as a religion ‘going global’. Jenkins (2007), for
example, has noted the rapid growth of Christianity in the global south, countering arguments that Islam
would overtake Christianity as the world's most popular faith. In cases in which immigrants share the
same vernacular or are members of a church with a centralized administration (such as the Catholic
Church), the propensity for such a pattern inevitably increases. Migrants participate in religious multi-
ethnic networks that connect them to their co-religionists locally and globally. Their main allegiance is
not to their original homeland but to their global religious community; religion offers a means for
‘transnational transcendence’ (Csordas, 2009) of identities and boundaries.

Second, it is possible for local ethnic or national particularism to gain or maintain the most important
place for local immigrant communities. In such instances, transnational national communities are
constructed and religious hierarchies perform dual religious and secular functions that ensure the
groups' survival (for examples, see Danforth, 1995; Roudometof, 2000). The above distinction obviously
represents two ends of a continuum of a variety of combinations observed among transnational or
immigrant or diasporic groups (see McLoughlin, 2010). For example, diasporas might adopt cultural
habits derived from the host country. A prominent example is the ‘Protestantization’ of various faiths
among groups living mostly in Europe or the United States. But other groups might shed cultural
elements in favour of a more globalist orientation; as suggested by Roy (2010) in his ‘deculturalization of
religion’ thesis. According to Roy, fundamentalist or more precisely revivalist movements attempt to
construct ‘pure religion’ that sheds the cultural tradition in which past religious life was immersed.

Transnational religion also has been used to describe cases of institutional transnationalism, whereby
communities living outside the national territory of particular states maintain religious attachments to
their home churches or institutions. This is quite a distinct use of the term ‘transnational’, and in this
case it is applied to institutions and not groups of people.

The second major research agenda concerns the interface between religion and culture. Concern with
public expressions of religiosity also brings forth the relationship between religion and culture (Besecke,
2005).

Instead of attributing fixed essences to cultural units, then, it is possible to concentrate on the various
processes referred to as indigenization, hybridization or glocalization (Burke, 2009; Pieterse, 2003; for
specific examples see Altglas, 2010). These processes register the ability of religion to mould into the
fabric of different communities in ways that connect it intimately with communal and local relations.
Religion sheds its universal uniformity in favour of blending with locality. Global-local or glocal religion
thus represents a 'genre of expression, communication and legitimation' of collective and individual
identities (Robertson, 1991: 282; Robertson and Garret, 1991: xv). Groups and individuals use this
religious tradition symbolically as emblematic of membership in an ethnic or national group.

Based on a survey of the history of Christianity, Roudometof (2013, 2014) argues that it is possible to
detect four concrete forms of glocalization: (1) indigenization, (2) vernacularization, (3) nationalization
and (4) transnationalization.

Vernacularization involved the rise of vernacular languages (such as Greek or Latin or Arabic in the case
of Islam) endowed with the symbolic ability of offering privileged access to the sacred, whereas
indigenization connected specific faiths with ethnic groups, whereby religion and culture were often
fused into a single unit. Vernacularization was often promoted by empires, whereas indigenization was

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

connected to the survival of particular ethnic groups. It is important to stress that this is not an
exclusively contemporary phenomenon. The creation of distinct branches of Christianity; such as
Orthodox and Catholic Christianity; bears the mark of this particularization of religious universalism.
Nationalization connected the consolidation of specific nations with particular confessions and has been
a popular strategy both in Western and Eastern Europe (Gorski, 2000; Hastings, 1997; Roudometof,
2001

Religion in Global Conflict

The contemporary conflicts with which religion has been associated are not solely about religion,
however, if one means by ‘religion’ a set of doctrines and beliefs. The conflicts have been about identity
and economics, about privilege and power – the things that most social conflicts are about. When these
conflicts are religionized – when they are justified in religious terms and presented with the aura of
sacred combat – they often become more intractable, less susceptible to negotiated settlement. Thus
although religion is seldom the problem, in the sense of causing the tensions that produced the conflicts
in the first place, it is often problematic in increasing the intensity and character of the struggle
(Juergensmeyer, 2004b).

An abundant number of new studies argues that this is the case, that religious conflict is a byproduct of
the global age (see Crockett, 2006; Hassner, 2009; Kippenberg, 2012; Lincoln, 2002; Ter Borg and Van
Henten, 2010; Toft, Philpott and Shaw 2011; Wellman, 2007; and Juergensmeyer, 2003, 2008).

Global development of religious conflict in five stages

First Stage: Revolt against Global Secularism

The first stage of the encounter was characterized by isolated outbursts. It began in the 1970s by a
variety of groups – Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Muslim – that were revolting against what they regarded
as the moral failing of the secular state. One of the first of these religious rebellions was nonviolent –
the Gandhian movement in India led by Jayaprakash Narayan, who called for a ‘Total Revolution’ in 1974
against the corruption of the Indian government.

1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini led a revolt against the secular regime of the Shah of Iran

Buddhist activists violently resisted attempts by the Sri Lankan government to appease the growing
movement of Tamil separatism that had arisen in that island nation in the 1970s

the Khalistani movement of Sikh separatism gained momentum and unleashed a reign of violence in the
north Indian state of Punjab throughout the 1980s

The gathering power of Muslim extremists in Egypt led to the brutal assassination of President
Mohammad Anwar al Sadat in 1981.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

The common element that ran through all of these otherwise isolated nonviolent and violent incidents
of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim rebellion in the 1970s and early 1980s was an implicit
moral critique of secular politics.

By that time a revived anti-colonial mood had developed against the cultural and political legacies of
European modernity in the Middle East and South Asia that gave the movements a new force.

Secular authorities treated these rebellious religious movements simply as attempts to usurp power.
The secular leaders left unchallenged the moral critique that the movements conveyed.

In some cases, they regarded the new religious activists as versions of the legendary Robin Hood – extra-
legal though virtuous challengers to the political status quo

Second Stage: Internationalization of Religious Rebellion

The next stage of the developing warfare between religious and secular politics was the
internationalization of the conflict in the 1980s. This stage is best represented by the ad hoc
international coalition of jihadi Muslim radicals that developed in the Afghan war. It is hard to
underestimate the formative power of their experience, shared by thousands of volunteer soldiers in
the Afghanistan struggle against the Soviet regime in the 1980s. In one central theatre of involvement
activists were brought together from throughout the Muslim world. The fighting force of mujahadin
included erstwhile jihadi soldiers who came from Muslim countries from Pakistan to Northern Africa. It
also included some of the Egyptian militants linked to Sadat's assassination and Saudis who would later
be identified with the al Qaeda movement of Osama bin Laden. Afghanistan became the crucible for
creating the international Muslim political networks that would infuriate global politics for the next two
decades.

Third Stage: Invention of Global Enemies

The third stage in the gathering cold war between religious and secular politics was characterized by a
growing anti-American and anti-European sentiment in the 1990s. In this stage the target of the religious
activists' wrath shifted from local regimes to international centres of power. Increasingly the political
and economic might of the United States and Europe became regarded as the source of problems both
locally and worldwide.

The 1990s constituted a decade of social dissent linked with religious traditions of various kinds:
Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism as well as Islam of both Sunni and Shi'ite varieties. America was
regarded as the fount of secularism and hence often the target. Many who attacked it were incensed by
what they regarded as its economic, cultural and political oppression under the ‘new world order’ of a
secular, America-dominated, post-Cold War globalized world. Some of the fiercest opponents of the
United States' secular power were themselves Americans. The venom of the Christian militia and other
extremist Christian groups in the United States led to a series of terrorist acts on abortion clinics, gay
and lesbian bars, and individuals perceived as being Jewish or immigrant.

Many radical Muslim groups saw American military and economic power the same way, but with a more
realistic basis for their critique. The United States' economic interests in the oil reserves of the Middle
East, and its unchallenged cultural and political influence in a post-Cold War world led many Muslim
activists to see America as a global bully, a worthy target of their religious and political anger. It

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

appealed especially to those whose resistance methods had been honed through the anti-Soviet
struggle in Afghanistan which also was seen as a fight against enemies of Islam.

Third Stage: Global War

Originally jihadi leaders like Khalid Shaikh Mohammad and bin Laden had been fixated on local issues –
in bin Laden's case, on Saudi Arabia. He was concerned especially about the role of the United States in
propping up the Saudi family and, in his mind, America's exploitation of the oil resources of the country.
He then adopted a broader critique of Middle Eastern politics, following the general jihadi perspective of
Maulana Maududi, Sayyid Qutb and other Muslim political thinkers who rejected all forms of Western
political and social influence in the region. Increasingly the goal of bin Laden's and the other jihadi
activists was not just to get American influence out of Saudi Arabia but out of the whole Muslim world.
This meant a confrontation of global proportions on multiple fronts.

Though bin Laden had declared war on the United States in his famous fatwa of 1996 it was largely an
invisible conflict, a great confrontation that lay largely.

within the imaginations of the jihadi activists, until 11 September 2001 brought it to public attention.
The response of the American political leadership following the 11 September was dramatic and
historically transformative. The televised pronouncements of President George W. Bush on both 11
September and even more decisively on the following day made clear how he and his administration
were going to interpret the attack: they adopted the jihadi terms. Rather than viewing the terrorist acts
as criminal deeds by a gang of thugs, the US leaders adopted some of the major elements of bin Laden's
view of the world and saw them as skirmishes in a global war. The simmering new Cold War of the 1990s
had become hot and exploded into a real war, the first of the twenty-first century. The new Cold War
also received a new name. It came to be known as the ‘Global War on Terror’ by US officials and the
American news media. The war was also characterized as the ‘struggle against radical Islam’, and indeed
the Muslim aspects of the religious encounter with the secular state became the single concern of
Western policymakers, despite the persistence of Christian militants in America, Hindu and Sikh activists
in India, Jewish extremists in Israel, and violent Buddhists in Sri Lanka and Thailand. Yet only the Muslim
activists shared an ideological perspective that was global in its encounter with the West and
transnational in its network of activists. Its actions were brutal and violent. So too were the American
attempts to suppress it, and the heavy-handed approach created further cycles of violence in response.

Terrorist acts associated with jihadi Muslim activists increased dramatically around the world in this
decade. The arena of terror became transnational.

Many of the Muslim activists in Europe were inflamed not only about European countries' support for
the US-led military coalition in Iraq but also about European attitudes toward the Muslim immigrant
community. The resentment of some elements of the expatriate community boiled over into violence.
Among the more incendiary moments were the tensions following the assassination of the Dutch
filmmaker, Theo van Gogh in November 2004; the rage of violence by North African and Arab youth in
France that left over 1,000 automobiles torched across the country in 2004; and the protests earlier that
same year over the French government's attempt to ban the wearing of headscarves by Muslim women
living in France.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

In the twenty-first century, the Internet provided a whole new arena for radical religious activism. The
new Cold War was waged not only on a geographical battlefield but also on the intellectual terrain of
cyberspace. Yet, like the old Cold War, the ideological confrontation always carried the threat of
bloodshed.

The era of globalization brought with it three enormous problems. The first was identity, how societies
could maintain a sense of homogeneity when ethnic, cultural, and linguistic communities were spread
across borders, in many cases spread across the world. The second problem was accountability, how the
new transnational economic, ideological, political and communication systems could be controlled,
regulated, and brought to justice. The third problem was one of security, how people buffeted by forces
seemingly beyond anyone's control could feel safe in a world increasingly without cultural borders or
moral standards. Religion provides answers to all three of these problems. Traditional definitions of
religious community provide a sense of identity, a feeling of belonging to those who accept that
fellowship as primary in their lives. Traditional religious leadership provides a sense of accountability, a
certainty that there are moral and legal standards inscribed in code and enforced by present-day leaders
who are accorded an unassailable authority. And for these reasons, religion also offers a sense of
security, the notion that within the community of the faithful and uplifted by the hands of God, one has
found safe harbor and is truly secure.

Teaching and Learning Activities

Personal concept map of global citizenship: Students will engage in a free association exercise
of ideas they associate with “global citizenship.” Based on this, they will synthesize a personal
definition of the concept. Afterwards, they

Recommended learning materials and resources for supplementary reading.

Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) adopted
Online (synchronous) –
Remote (asynchronous) - module
Assessment Task

References
Aldama, Prince Kennex R. (2018). “The Contemporary World”. Rex Book Store, Sampaloc,
Manila.
Alporha, Vernonica and John Lee Candelaria (2018) Readings in Philippine History. Rex Book
Store Inc., Sampaloc, Manila

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Chapter 11: Global Demography (2 hours)

Introduction
Understanding, describing and making certain predictions about the composition
of a population with reference to their distribution and statistics of age, sex and other related
factors is called demography. In the olden times, this study of population may have been absent
because societies are treated in terms of their regionalist nature. With the advent of
globalization which facilitated movement of knowledge and models, goods and capitals among
others, analysis of population change not only within a country but across the globe is important.

Globalization produced a shift of demographic trends that shows improved and healthier
life, creation of ageing society, intra-and-intergenerational equity, giving importance to child care
and balance between work/private life, etc. As such, it essential to understand world
demography in terms of how globalization changed the world and identify the global forces that
determine the world’s demographic variables (i.e. fertility and death rates) across space and
time.

Learning Outcomes

1. describe the theory of demographic transition

2. identify and explain how global forces affect demographic trends in different regions

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Content
A. The Demographic Transition Theory

Demographic transition determined the “evolution of global population by regions with

changing shares of population across the regions (Ospina-Ortiz, E.,2018)”. It marks the period
whereby fertility and mortality rates significantly decreased from high levels in some parts of
the globe. Fertility rate refers to the actual number of children born to a woman or group of
women. It is otherwise known as birth rate which is measured by crude birth rate or the number
of births per 1,000 of the population in a given area and specified time. In contrast, mortality or
death rate is the number of deaths per 1,000 of the total midyear population in a particular
place at a specified time measured by crude death rate. The average number of years one
expects to live is called life expectancy. With the improvement of mortality conditions, the life
span of a certain population naturally increases.

The demographic transition follows a pattern illustrated as follows.

FIGURE 1. DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION MODEL

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Source: [Link]

Stage 1 Characterized by pre-industrial society, birth and death rates are high
during this stage. Population growth is typically low and balanced. People
live with agricultural activities to which they consider having large children
as an economic benefit, hence, contributing to high birth rates. However,
any fluctuations in birth rates are soon matched by death rates due to
starvation and diseases caused by unavailability of food, adequacy of
medical care and sanitation. Life expectancy is very short so to speak
(Social Science LibreTexts, 2020, and Agarwal, P., 2020).

Stage 2 Due to discovery of new sources of food or achievement of higher crop

yields, and improved sanitation, death rates rapidly drops during this
stage. Enhancement of food supply is made possible by selective
breeding, crop rotation and farming techniques. Public health care
practices focusing in the areas of food sanitation, water supply, sewage
and personal hygiene reduced diseases thereby decreasing mortality rate
(Social Science LibreTexts, 2020).

Though life expectancy relatively improved in this stage, birth rate

remained high. For this reason, the second stage marked the period of
rapid population growth otherwise known as population explosion
(Agarwal, P., 2020).

Stage 3 This stage is marked by the drop of birth rate accompanying the
continuous low death rate. With further improvements in health and
sanitation, families involved in agriculture became few (meaning less
need for large families to work on farms). Wages increased and women
were empowered with their enhanced literacy or education and
participation in the labor force. These sprouted to the idea of family
planning and increased access to contraception thereby lowering the
fertility rate among women. Mortality rate remained high as parents
started to invest to their child care and education.

Stage 4 In this stage, the population starts shrinking as both birth and death rates
are low. “Replacement level” of families become very low since families
now long for an average number of below two children each. Population
is considered shrinking because its rate remains the same or decreasing.
The generation born during the second stage is aging or becoming elderly
hence, the shrinking working population aging 15 years old to 64 are
expected to support the elderly members of the society (Social Science
LibreTexts, 2020).

Stage 5 Though debatable, a fifth stage is predicted to occur based on continuous

lowering of birth rate. With uncertainty, some demographers say that
fertility rate will shift either above or below replacement levels in this
stage. Some argue that it will rise some say the opposite.

B. The Beginning of Demographic Transition

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

The interaction between population and globalization can be drawn from the prehistoric
period whereby human beings migrated across the globe. This denotes the mobility of people
from the farming society of rural areas to globally linked lifestyle in the urban areas with respect
to food, markets, technology, leisure, among others. In essence, transition therefore is rooted
from migration activities of the human beings (Shigeyuki, 2018).

Demographic transition started to become visible in western countries. The Europeans

who are known to have explored different territories such as America and Australia have set
unprecedented wave of depopulation among the Native Americans and Aborigines in Australia
from 15th to 19th century. This is by way of spread of certain diseases such as small pox,
measles, mumps and enslavement to which the natives lack immunity. The depopulation in
America and Australia led to huge migration activities by Africans to Europe. In the form of
enslavement and forced migration, 11-12 million Africans migrated to the continent from 1520’s
to 1888 while 54 million people between 1815 and 1930 have migrated into it due to its
extreme labor and skills requirement. Improvement of nutrition, reduction of mortality rates and
increasing population growth rates particularly in Western Europe have marked the
demographic transition phenomena of the last 250 years (Shigeyuki, A, Croix, S., and Mason,
A, 2002).
.
C. Impact of Globalization to Demographic Transition

Following a four-stage pattern (the fifth being debatable), the pacing and timing though
of demographic transition is varied across countries (Shigeyuki, 2018). There are countries,
particularly the developing ones that are growing rapidly while some are growing very slowly or
shrinking. Although becoming more populated than before, the world population is slowing
down and it is distributed extremely unequally among the different territories. This may be due
to significant differences that exist across countries and regions such as their cultural,
economic and social forces (Snider, S., 2013).

In demography, there are three main variables that help to explain demographic trends:
1) the size of national population; 2) their rates of growth; and 3) age structures (Shigeyuki,
2018). The population size refers to actual number of individuals in the population; growth rate
refers to degree to which the size of the population is changing over time; and the age
structure as the distribution of individuals among age groups within a population (Snider, S.,
2013). It is important to note however that in understanding the demographic trends, natural
population growth accounts its explanation of population change from the difference between
birth and death rates alone. Natural increase means higher birth than death rate, while natural
decrease accounts a higher mortality than birth rate. If migration is included in the formula this
refers to the population growth rate.

Economic globalization which can be traced in 1850 at Europe is one source of global
migration. In the beginning, market integration is limited across Europe and the globe. There
was a limited international trade flows whereby capital markets are confined to small number
of developed countries in the continent. Transfer of information and technology is very slow
which did not encourage foreign direct investment, hence, limiting contact outside Europe.

With the opening of the Suez and Panama Canal at the end of 19 th century, economic
globalization is pushed at a fast pace leading to extraordinary creation and exchange of
capital, labor and products outside Europe. The opening of the canals significantly reduced

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

transportation costs especially on sea transportation which facilitated exchange of important

products (e.g. wheat, meat, iron bars, copper, wool and coffee) between America and Europe.
European trade shares increased in Western Europe, doubled in Asia and more than tripled in
Africa. This event stimulated migration flow from Europe to North and South America as well
as Australia due to high increase in wages; from India to Africa and Asia; from China to
Southeast Asia and United States; and from Japan to North and South America and Hawaii up
to the early 20th century. Europe and America in particular increased the flow of workers
between them as a manifestation of strong trading relationship. Falling transportation costs
however damaged the farmers in Europe as the prices of agricultural products within their
region decreased due to imposition of very low tariff rates to imported agricultural goods from
America. It is for this reason that an increase in immigration flow to America as well as
Australia was made by European farmers.

Equity markets in United States, Canada and European countries’ such as France,
England and Germany’s higher savings rates generated their demographic transition. This
however began to deteriorate when social policies of said countries emerged. The United
States imposed restricted to immigration for China in 1882 and Japan in 1907. Germany,
Sweden, France and many others also set tariffs to their grain imports and raw materials due
to flooding of American agricultural products in Europe. These prompted the shattering of
global war, World War I, which paralyzed the economic globalization. Refugee flows and
immigration from Europe and United States was cut during the wars. The redrawing of political
boarders in Europe stimulated immigration to Central and Eastern Europe. As a consequence,
European countries (except France) started to create immigration restrictions in 1920’s and
1930’s to Eastern European migrants.

With the onset of World War II, weapons of massive destruction crushed civilian
population in Asia and Europe. Facilitated by inventions of more rapid dissemination of
technologies and information before the outbreak of war, Germany under Adolf Hitler’s
leadership, significantly decreased world population by destroying Jewish population and
having killed 50-70 million people during the wartime combat, genocide and famine.

Said two world wars led to postwar refugee flows in tens of millions in Japan, China,
Korea, Europe, India and Pakistan. After World War II, repatriation of colonial populations and
refugee flows in Central Africa, Venezuela, Pakistan and Iran, Taiwan, Korea and Vietnam.
Some western countries such as Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany and Austria
shared migrants in their labor forces. Inter-Asian migration also generated Hongkong, Malaysia,
and Singapore a share of large number of migrants in their labor force. The oil companies in
Middle East Asia also benefited as they have large percentage of migrant workers in their labor
force, mostly from Asia.

While voluntary immigration is restricted, migration per se increased gradually during the
post-World War 2. This weakened the demographic transition as it significantly changed the
working population of the origin and the host (receiving) country. Sending population are often
those that are growing rapidly composed of young ages while those that receive are usually
experiencing lower growth and ageing population.

The expansion and digitization of communication and transportation also inhibited

demographic transition as it led to decrease in costs of gathering information and transporting or
shipping goods and people. Life expectancy is also enhanced via public health, nutrition,

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

medical treatment, and proliferation of non-profit or inter-governmental organizations dedicated

in promoting economic, social, environmental welfare as well as demographic conditions.

With continuous improvement of life expectancy, the gap or expectancy differences

among countries became smaller especially between Japan and West as compared to other
countries. Mortality rates started to decline in African and Asian countries. At the end of 19 th
century, life expectancy of Japan as well as industrialized countries in the west is 12 years
greater than other countries; higher by 20 years in 1900; and relatively 22 years higher from
1900-1950 because the gains in life expectancy were confined in these industrialized countries
only. However, their gap significantly decreased to 14 years in 1999 when life expectancy
improved significantly all over the world. Until 1930’s Japan did not drop its fertility rate of five
children per woman while other Asian countries started its fertility decline only in 1950’s or later.
As a result, Asian countries (excluding Japan) and the rest of developing countries experienced
rapid population growth after World War 2.

With the increasing life expectancy, population of industrialized countries started to age.
Japan and the west’s overall demographic trend moved downward until 1950, making their
population ageing. The United States who had receiving migrants prior to the war periods
remained younger in its population. They continued to allow immigration of Europeans in their
country making their population almost tripled, from 99 million in 1910 to 6.14 billion in 2001.
Other countries sending migrants to US in effect are experiencing significant reductions of their
working population.

Aside from migration of young ages from developing to the industrialized countries, the
existence of baby boom after World War II created a large swing in the age structure of
western population. Baby boom is a term used to refer to children born in the west after World
War II. It denotes rising fertility rate in the west after the war and decreasing infant and child
mortality in developing countries such as Asia and Africa (Shigeyuki, A, Croix, S., and Mason,
A, 2002). With this, the world population increased in just about 40 years from 1960 to 1999
(Balan, M. and Vasile, B., 2008). Western countries, especially United States of America,
increased its share in the world’s population. Overall, they share 22 to 33 percent of the
population in the 19th century while Asia and Oceania’s contribution fall to 56.7 from 69 percent.
China and India remained stagnant in their economy and demography in this century
(Shigeyuki, A, Croix, S., and Mason, A, 2002).

In the 21st century, the above condition reversed as the developing regions of Africa,
Asia, Latin America and Oceania reached high levels of population growth rate. Previously,
population growth occurred mostly in Europe and western countries taking account of 69.3
percent of the world population. In year 2000 however, Europe as well as its Europe-settler
countries share only 19.7 of the global population. This is much far from their previous share of
69.3 % from 1820 to 1980. Latin America as well as Africa’s share doubled on the other hand
(Shigeyuki, A, Croix, S., and Mason, A, 2002).

Dependency ratio which refers to the ratio of dependents, aging 0-14 years old and 65
and above, to the working age (15-64 years old) is also a critical reference to the changing
global population after the World War II. With their ageing population, Japan as well as other
industrialized countries in the west have different age structure from the rest of the world. While
they have high dependency ratio in later part of the 19 th century, the trend fall starting year
1950. Baby boom was noted after the World War 2 due to increase in fertility rate, hence,
increase in dependency ratio. This occurrence though was only temporary. After 1950, their

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

childbearing capacity (excluding Japan which birth rate only started to decline in 1970’s)
significantly lowered (Shigeyuki, A, Croix, S., and Mason, A, 2002).

Among Asian countries, India and Philippines shared higher dependency ratio than that
of the western countries in 1900. This was speeded by further increase in birth rate and
decrease rate of mortality due to gaining from high life expectancy all over the world which
reached its peak in 1970. Decades after this year, the gap of dependency ratio among countries
becomes smaller if not begun to disappear as birth rates have dropped all over the world. This
imply that in the future, global population is ageing making the dependency ratio to increase
significantly. This will happen first in the western countries as they have higher level of ageing
population compared to Latin America, Africa, Asia and other developing countries (Shigeyuki,
A, Croix, S., and Mason, A, 2002).

FIGURE 2. LATEST WORLD POPULATION BY REGION

Source: [Link]

Teaching and Learning Activities

Group Activity

1. Group the students by three members each.

2. Instruct each group to identify either one developing country or industrial country
from all over the world.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

3. Ask each group to research on the population change in their identified country.
4. Base on their research, have each group determine the present location of their
identified country from the stages of Demographic Transition Model.
5. Let them discuss and explain their answers on the class (if face to face). /Let them
submit a write-up or share their answers in step #4 online.

Recommended learning materials and resources for supplementary reading.

Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) adopted
For uniformity, we will adopt the SeDi (Self-Directed) Learning Management System of
the Isabela State University.

Assessment Task
QUIZ
Multiple Choice (5 points).
1. Fertility is
a) the number of live births in a given year.
b) used to assess the health of a population
c) the incidence of child bearing in a country’s population
d) the maximum possible number of children that can be born each year.
2. When people leave a place to go elsewhere for work or temporary or permanent
residence, this is called?
a) Migration
b) Population transfer
c) Net-migration
d) Immigration
3. The highest natural increase rates are found in countries in which stage of the
demographic transition model?
a) Stage 1 c) Stage 3
b) Stage 2 d) Stage 4
4. The percentage of people who are too young or too old to work is called?
a) Dependency ratio c) life expectancy
b) Population pyramid d) migration
5. Country X has a birth rate of 40 and death rate of 15. Country Y has 20 birth and 9 death
rate. Which of the two has a natural increase in population?
a) Country X c) Both
b) Country Y d) Neither X nor Y
ESSAY. (10 points)

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

In not less than five sentences, describe and briefly explain an ageing population.

References
Demographic Transition Theory (2020) Retrieved from
[Link]
17%3A_Population_and_Urbanization/17.02%3A_Population_Growth/17.2E
%3A_Demographic_Transition_Theory on August 28, 2020
Nicolae-Balan, M and Vasile, V. (2008) Impact of globalization on the evolution of
demographic phenomenon. Romanian Journal of Economic Forecasting. Institute of Economic
Forecasting.
Ospina, E., Roser, H. and Ritchie, H. (2019) Population Growth. Retrieved from
[Link] on June 20, 2019.
Snider, S. B. & Brimlow, J. N. (2013) An Introduction to Population Growth. Nature
Education Knowledge 4(4):3 Retrieved from
[Link]
84225544/ on 20, 2020.
The Demographic Transition Model. Development Economics: Intelligent Economist
and Economic Theory. Retrieved from [Link]
transition-model/ on August 28, 2020.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Chapter 14: Global Food Security (3 hours)

Introduction
For centuries food security was interpreted as the possibility of providing food
produced in a given country in full or in the majority to satisfy the demands of all
inhabitants. This meaning of food security has changed, along with development of trade
and international specialty. The rapid growth in the worldwide food production and free
international trade has enabled the countries with disadvantageous conditions to purchase
the necessary food from other markets. Access to food depended on incomes, and not
national production. Financial security prevailed over food security. This perspective was
influenced by economists who wanted to treat food and agrarian products just like other
goods, and make the volume and structure of domestic food production subordinate to
market regulations and the comparative costs rule.
Food security may be achieved only with the simultaneous provision of economic
and social security, as well as maintenance of domestic production at a level ensuring
food accessibility and foreign trade or food reserves and the correct functioning and
processing and distribution. Food security results mainly from systematic and institutional
solutions in the fields of politics, economy and society.

Learning Outcomes

1. Define global food security

2. Know the importance of global food security

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

3. Enumerate the five components of food security and the different ways to improve
global food security
4. Identify some problems and main threats to food security
5. Critique existing models of global food security

Content
Food Security refers to conditions in which “all people”, at all times, have physical and
economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food
preference for an active and healthy life. (FAO, 1996)
Importance of Global Food Security
Growth in the agriculture sector has been found, on average, to be at least twice as
effective in reducing poverty as growth on other sectors. Food security often rooted in poverty –
decreases the ability of countries to develop their agricultural markets and economies.
Access to quality, nutritious food is fundamental to human existence. Secure access to
food can produce wide ranging positive impacts, including:
1. Economic growth and job creation
2. Poverty reduction
3. Trade opportunities
4. Increased global security and stability
5. Improved health and healthcare
5 Components of Food Security
1. Availability of food
2. Access to food
3. Utilization of food
4. Stability
5. Malnutrition
5 Ways to Improve Global Food Security
1. Close the yield gap
2. Use fertilizer more effectively
3. Raise low water productivity
4. Target food for direct consumption
5. Reduce food waste
Biggest threats to food security
The main threats to food security are:
1. World population growth
2. The increase demand for food
3. Food price
4. The disappearance of the variety of agricultural plant species
5. The increase in the area of scarcity of water and the limitation of the availability of
land
6. The food losses and food waste

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Existing Models of Global Food Security

Contemporary models in use for long-run projections of agriculture and the food system can be
classified into two broad categories:
a.) Economy- wide compatible general equilibrium (CGE) models
b.) Partial equilibrium (PE) multi-market models that focus only on agricultural sectors

CGE models consider all production sectors in an economy simultaneously and take full
account of macroeconomic constraints, and inter sectorial linkages. With respect to the
representation of the food system, their strength is that they include the entire value chain from
agricultural production to food processing and distribution and finally to food consumption
households.
In contrast, PE models focus on just one aspect of the value chain – unprocessed or first
stage processed agricultural products – and ignore macroeconomic constraints and linkages
between agricultural production and aggregate income. This limits the domain of applicability of
these partial analytic models to scenarios in which the feedback effects of shocks to agriculture
on aggregate income are small. On the other hand, PE models support a more detailed
commodity disaggregation than CGE models and a finer spatial resolution on the supply side.

Teaching and Learning Activities

1. What is the difference between food security and insecurity?
2. Why is global food security important?
3. Why is food security difficult?
4. Who is affected by food security?

Recommended learning materials and resources for supplementary reading.

Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) adopted
Online (synchronous) - SeDi LMS
Remote (asynchronous) - Module

Assessment Task
Essay:
1. Why food security is a global issue?
2. What are the impact of COVID 19 on food security, agriculture value chain and hunger in your
country based on anecdotal or empirical evidences?
3. Why do we seem very worried about the victims of COVID 19 and don’t seem concerned
about the victims of hunger and hunger-related diseases?

References
Claudio, Lisandro E. et al. 2018. The Contemporary World, C & E Publishing Inc.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

[Link]
[Link]
[Link]

Chapter 15: Global Citizenship (2 hours)

Introduction
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 state. Cecilia
Johanna van Peski (as cited in Baraldi, 2012) defined global citizenship “as a moral and ethical
disposition that can guide the understanding of individuals or groups of local and global
contexts, and remind them of their relative responsibilities within various communities.” Global
citizens are the glue which binds local communities together in an increasingly globalized world.
In van Peski’s words, “global citizens might be a new type of people that can travel within these
various boundaries and somehow still make sense of the world” (Braldi, 2012).
Global citizenship does not automatically entail a single attitude and a particular value
with globalization. We must remember that globalization is not a 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 multiple futures for multiple globalizations. These
globalizations created enemies because according to one broad view, globalization blame either
Westernization or global capitalism. Thus, the enemies resist globalization, especially when it
comes to global economy and global governance.
Learning Outcomes
3. Articulate a personal definition of global citizenship
4. Appreciate the ethical obligations of global citizenship

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Content
Three Approaches to Global Economic Resistance
Trade Protectionism
Involves the systematic government intervention in foreign trade through tariffs and non-tariff
barriers in order to encourage domestic producers and deter their foreign competitors
(McAleese, 2007). Although there exists a widespread consensus regarding its inefficiency,
trade protectionism is still popular since it shields the domestic economy from systemic shocks.
Fair Trade
Fair trade is a different approach to economic globalization, which emerged as a counter to
neoliberal “free trade” principles (Nicholls and Opal, 2005). It aims at a more moral and
equitable global economic system in which, for instance, price is not set by the market; instead,
it is negotiated transparently by both producers and consumers. While it is popular among
consumers in the North, it has met only limited acceptance among producers (Ritzer, 2015). Its
ability to supply a mass market and its applicability to manufacture products are also doubted.
Helping the Bottom Billion
Based on Collier (2007), increasing aid is only one of the many measures that are required.
International norms and standards can be adapted to the needs of the bottom billion. The
reduction of trade barriers would also reduce the economic marginalization of these people and
their nations.
When it comes to dealing with political globalization, increased accountability (Germain, 2004)
and transparency are the key issues. All political organizations, at different levels should be
more accountable for their actions because they are now surrounded by an “ocean of opacity”
(Holzner and Holzner, 2006, p. 336). Increased transparency has been aided by various
mechanisms such as transnational justice systems, international tribunals, civil society, and
particularly the Transparency International. Like globalization, resistance to globalization is
multiple, complex, contradictory, and ambiguous. This movement also has the potential to
emerge as the new public sphere, which may uphold progressive values such as autonomy,
democracy, peace, ecological sustainability, and social justice. These forces of resistance are
themselves products of globalization and can be seen as globalization from below (Smith,
2008). According to della Porta et al. (2006), the impetus for such a movement comes from
individuals, groups, and organizations which are oppressed (i.e., self-perception) by
globalization from above (neoliberal economic systems or aggressively expanding nations and
corporations). They seek a more democratic process of globalization. However, globalization
from below also involves less visible, more right-wing elements, such as the America First Party
and the Taliban. The World Social Forum (WSF) is centered on addressing the lack of
democracy in economic and political affairs (Fisher and Ponniah, 2003). However, the diversity
of elements involved in WSF hinders the development of concrete political proposals. A
significant influence on WSF has been that of cyberactivism, which is based on the “cultural
logic of networking” (Juris, 2005) and “virtual movements”, such as Global Huaren. This
cyberpublic was formed as a protest against the violence, discrimination and hatred
experienced by Chinese residents in Indonesia after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In 1998,
worldwide rallies condemning the violence were made possible through the Global Huaren

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

which according to Ritzer (2015) “became an interesting global watchdog for Chinese interests”
(p. 307).Since there is no single globalization, the future is also multi-dimensional. Some
foresee the continuing expansion of globalization both in general as well as in more specific
globalization. Others have a far more pessimistic vision of “Mad Max” scenarios that could end
the current era of globalization (Turner, 2007).In any case, given that there is no world
government, the idea of global citizenship demands the creation of rights and obligations.
Moreover, fulfilling the promises of globalization and the solution to the problems of the
contemporary world does not lie on single entity or individual, but on citizens, the community,
and the different organizations in societies, the dynamics of globalization demands the efforts of
the whole array of inter-governmental organizations such as the United Nations and the World
Bank; international NGOs like Greenpeace and Amnesty International; and the citizen initiatives
and community action groups that reach above the nation-state level like the World Social
Forum and Occupy Movement. Ultimately, reforms in global governance are required to allow
world citizens to take more part directly in all aspects of human life at the global level.

Teaching and Learning Activities

Personal concept map of global citizenship: Students will engage in a free association exercise
of ideas they associate with “global citizenship.” Based on this, they will synthesize a personal
definition of the concept. Afterwards, they will list the obligations of a global citizen.

Recommended learning materials and resources for supplementary reading.

Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) adopted
Online (synchronous) –
Remote (asynchronous) - module
Assessment Task

References
Aldama, Prince Kennex R. (2018). “The Contemporary World”. Rex Book Store, Sampaloc,
Manila.
Alporha, Vernonica and John Lee Candelaria (2018) Readings in Philippine History. Rex Book
Store Inc., Sampaloc, Manila
Zaide, Sonia M. (2000) The Philippines: A Unique nation, History of the Republic of the
Philippines, Cubao, Quezon City.

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cauayan Campus

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

GEC 8 The Contemporary World Course Module

First Semester,
School Year 2020-2021