Globalization explained: Q & A
with Manfred Steger
We recently interviewed Manfred B. Steger, one of the leading experts on
globalization. Mr Steger is Professor of Political Science at the University of Hawai’i-
Manoa and Senior Advisor on International Education and Globalization to the Dean
of Social Sciences. He is the author of Globalization: a Very Short Introduction, Here
are the highlights:
1. Can you provide us with your own definition of globalization?
Globalization refers to the expansion and intensification of social relations and
consciousness across world-time and world-space. It is a multi-dimensional
phenomenon involving economics, politics, culture, ideology, environment, and
technology.
2. Most of us are familiar with economic globalization, but don’t have much
knowledge of political globalization – what is it exactly about?
Political globalization refers to the intensification and expansion of political
interrelations across the globe. These processes raise an important set of political
issues pertaining to the principle of state sovereignty, the growing impact of
intergovernmental organizations, and the future prospects for regional and global
governance, and environmental policies affecting our planet. Obviously, these themes
respond to the evolution of political arrangements beyond the framework of the
nation-state, thus breaking new conceptual and institutional ground. After all, for the
last few centuries, humans have organized their political differences along territorial
lines that generated a sense of ‘belonging’ to a particular nation-state.
Out of these disagreements there have emerged three fundamental questions that
probe the extent of political globalization. First, is it really true that the power of the
nation-state has been curtailed by massive flows of capital, people, and technology
across territorial boundaries? Second, are the primary causes of these flows to be
found in politics or in economics? Third, are we witnessing the emergence of new
global governance structures? Before we respond to these questions in more detail, let
us briefly consider the main features of the modern nation-state system.
3. Can you mention us one nation that successfully managed globalization in the
last two decades and one example of failure?
Perhaps the most impressive success stories are South Korea and Brazil and
prominent failures would include North Korea and Iran.
4. As Rana Foroohar wrote in Time Magazine, these past two years global trade
has been lower than GDP growth for the first time since WWII. Do you fear that
globalization is in reverse?
I don’t think that it’s correct to say that the US ‘turned inward’ economically. It just
no longer dominates the world economy to the extent it did twenty or thirty years ago.
Also, if we look at the strong right-wing nationalist (anti-immigration) tendencies in
various European countries, such as Hungary, Greece, Austria, or Switzerland, it
would be more apt to call these dynamics ‘globalization in reverse’.
5. In his book “The Post- American world” Fareed Zakaria argued that the US
was able to globalize the world but basically failed to globalize itself. What is
your take on this?
I don’t think that one particular nation-state–not even the US–is capable of
‘globalizing’ the world on its own. Globalization is a long-term process that, over
many centuries, has crossed significant thresholds. The last of these thresholds
occurred in the 1980s/1990s, when the US seemed to be the world’s sole
‘hyperpower’. Yet, with hindsight, we know that these were also the decades which
laid the foundations for the rise of Asia. Since globalization is a many-dimensional
phenomenon, it does not make sense to talk about the ‘failure’ of the US to ‘globalize
itself’. In its economic and cultural dimensions, for example, the US is much more
globalized than Europe. If we take the ideological dimension, however, the US lags
behind Europe where voters still enjoy more ideological choices.
6. Do you think the 21st Century is the Asian Century? Or, still, the West is
going to hold pre-eminence in terms of innovation, R&D and education?
In principle, I agree that the 21st century belongs to Asia. This does not mean that we
should expect the decline of American military and educational power or European
cultural and educational power any time soon. But Asia will gradually emerge as the
equal to the US and Europe. Also watch out for the rise of Australia and Brazil.
Reference
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maka language consulting
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