Module 1: The Nature of
Globalization 1
Topic 1: The Task of defining Globalization
o Social innovation is the process of developing and deploying effective solutions to challenging and
often systemic social and environmental issues in support of social progress (Soule, Malhotra &
Clavier, 2017).
Defining Globalization
o Martin Albrow (1996) defines globalization as all those processes by which the peoples of the world
are incorporated into a single world society. These processes became rapidly changing the world not
only in terms of trade but also in terms of diffusion of culture.
Why Contemporary World?
o We are living in different circumstances and ideas of the present age in a colloquial “in modern times
like these”.
o We need to look at the situation which considers the past and future; our cultural-way of life and at the
same time understanding the world of having diversity.
o Since our world is diverse, we practice what anthropologist called as “Cultural Relativism”; this is to
understand diverse culture and the uniqueness of one’s culture without prejudice and biases.
o Economic and technological advances are characteristics of the contemporary world and there are
fundamental aspects of it.
Different debates about Globalization
o There are different issues about globalization that most people would debate about like the issue of
global governance. This aspect of globalization resonance with the stability of government of each
state. Other issues are equitable development among nations and countries around the world and how
humans will survive in the future which is crucial in maintaining sustainability of world’s resources like
food security and energy resources.
Defining Globalization
o One of the most important challenges facing the world in the 21stcentury is globalization; to look at the
concept of “Globalization” it is generally defined as the increasing interconnectedness of people and
places through converging economic, political and cultural activities.
Attributes of Globalization:
o Global communication systems that link all regions and most people on the planet instantaneously;
o Transportation systems capable of moving goods quickly by air, sea and land;
o Transnational business strategies that have created global corporations more powerful than many
sovereign nations;
o New and more flexible forms of capital accumulation and international financial institutions that make
24-hour trading possible;
o Global agreements that promote free trade;
o Market economies and private enterprises that have replaced state-controlled economies and services;
o An abundance of planetary goods and services that have arisen to fulfill consumer demand –real and
imagined;
o Economic disparities between rich and poor regions and countries that drive people to migrate, both
legally and illegally, in search of a better life;
o An army of international workers, managers, and executives who give this powerful economic force a
human dimension.
Topic 2: Metaphors of globalization
The Nature of Globalization
o A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it
is not literally applicable. As with any aspect of world politics, globalization is bound up in metaphors.
The countless and widely varying examples include 'creol- ization', 'flexibilization', 'glocalization',
'McWorld', and 'virtual reality'. Such utterances generate mental associations that can deeply shape
overall knowledge of globalization.
Metaphors of Globalization
o The metaphors of globalization describe the process of globalization and how these phenomena can be
best articulated. In general, it is described in two opposing poles –the solid and liquid, and how it flows.
Solid and Liquid
o Solidity refers to barriers that prevent or make difficult the movement of things. Furthermore, solids
can either be natural or man-made.
o Liquidity refers to the increasing ease of movement of people, things, information, and places in the
contemporary world.
o Liquid phenomena change quickly and their aspects, spatial and temporal, are in continuous fluctuation.
o Space and time are crucial elements of globalization.
Flows
o Flows is the movement of people, things, places, and information brought by the growing “porosity” of
global limitations (Ritzer, 2015). As Landler (2008) put it: “in the global financial system, national
borders are porous”. This means that a financial crisis in a given country can bring ramifications to
other regions in the world.
Defining Globalization
o The term globalization first appeared in Webster’s Dictionary in 1961; it is then classified as either (1)
broad and inclusive or (2) narrow and exclusive;
o Ohmae(1992) stated that “globalization means onset of the borderless world” –an example of a broad
and inclusive type of definition
o Robert Cox’s definition is narrow and exclusive –“the characteristics of globalization trend include the
internationalizing of production, the new international division of labor, new migratory movements
from South to North, the new competitive environment that accelerates these processes, and the
internationalizing of the state.. Making states into agencies of the globalizing world”.
o Recent definition by Ritzer(2015) –“globalization is a transplanetaryprocess or a set of processes
involving increasingly liquidity and the growing multidirectional flows of people, places, and
information as well as the structures they encounter and create that are barriers to, or expedite, those
flows”; this assumes that globalization could bring either or both integration and/ or fragmentation;
although things flow easily in a global world, hindrances or structural blocks are also present, these
blocks could slow down one’s activity in another country or could even limit the places a person can
visit.
Topic 3: Globalization Theories
Globalization Theories
o Many social scientists gave different perspectives how globalization started. Some claims that the
spread of Americanization as global power paved way for rapid globalization. Ritzer (2008) claimed
that, in general, the contemporary world is undergoing a process of McDonaldization, a process by
which Western societies are dominated by the principles of fast food restaurants.
o Globalization as a process increases either homogeneity or heterogeneity. Homogeneity–refers to the
increasing sameness in the world as cultural inputs, economic factors and political orientations of
societies expand to create common practices, same economies, and similar forms of government.
Homogeneity in culture is often linked to cultural imperialism. This means, a given culture influences
other cultures.
o In homogeneity, a given culture influences other cultures. A good example is Americanization through
global economy that brought American products, ideas, images, practices and behavior to the world.
This process also spread ideologies like capitalism, neoliberalism and the market economy in the world.
The political realm also suffers homogenization if one takes into account the emerging similar models
of governance in the world.
o Ritzer (2008) claimed that, in general, the contemporary world is undergoing the process of
McDonaldization. It is a process by which Western societies are dominated by the principles of fast
food restaurants. It involves the global spread of rational systems, such as efficiency, calculability,
predictability, and control.
o Heterogeneity pertains to the creation of various cultural practices, new economies, and political
groups because of the interaction of elements from different societies in the world. Heterogeneity refers
to the differences because of either lasting differences or of the hybrids or combinations of cultures that
can produced through the different transplanetary processes. Contrary to cultural imperialism,
heterogeneity in culture is associated with cultural hybridization.
o Contrary to cultural imperialism, heterogeneity in culture is associated with cultural hybridization. A
more specific is “glocalization” coined by Roland Robertson (1992). It explain that as global forces
interact with local factors or a specific geographical area, the “glocal” (global+ local) is being
produced. This is not only happening in culture but also in economic issues and in political institutions.
McDonaldization
o "McDonaldization" is when a society adopts the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant.
-George Ritzer, 1993, The McDonaldization of Society
o Refers to the business model adopted by McDonalds in the fast food industry that focuses on the 4 main
elements of efficiency, predictability, calculability and control.
1. Efficiency - expect to order an item and have it available right away
2. Predictability - familiarity; expect same menu of same resto from different places
3. Calculability - even if low quality, you will get a lot of food for a low price; quantity over quality.
4. Control - control through non-human technology that ensure food is cooked and prepared in the
same way.
o Rationality - replace traditional rules with logical and consistent ones.
Topic 4: Dynamics of Local and Global Culture
o One of the characteristics of culture is being dynamic. Globalization changed the pattern of cultural
diffusion and sharing that caused to produce glocalization and hybridization. These processes make
culture becomes more global with local flavors.
o Today local and global cultural production are in decline. That's the new dynamic. Globally due to rising
fragmentation and locally as a result of the search of what originally was supposed to be there. Neglecting
that culture is not static but dynamic as it is the product of reflection necessities and discoveries.
o 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 differentialism,
hybridization and convergence.
o Cultural differentialism emphasizes the fact that cultures are essentially different and are only
superficially affected by global flows. The interaction of cultures is deemed to contain the potential for
“catastrophic collision.”
o Cultural hybridization approach emphasizes the integration of local and global cultures. Globalization is
considered to be a creative process which gives rise to hybrid entities that are not reducible to either the
global or the local.
o In the convergence of culture around the globe these concepts describe different processes like:
“Glocalization” or the interpenetration of the global and local resulting unique outcomes in different
geographic areas. (Giulianotti & Robertson, 2007)
Arjun Appadurai’s “Scapes” in 1996, where global flows involve people, technology, finance,
political images, and media and the disjuncture between them, which lead to the creation of cultural
hybrids.
o Global cultural flow, a theory coined byArjun Appadurai, demonstrated the definition and effects of
cultural flows in 5 distinct scapes: ethnoscapes, technoscapes, financescapes, mediascapes and
ideoscapes. Global cultural flow is a result of the process ofglobalization.
1. Ethnoscapes refer to the shifting landscape of people across culture and borders such as tourists,
immigrants, refugees, exiles, guest workers. An example of ethnoscapes is Australia –a multi-ethnic
country with one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse populations in the world.
2. Technoscapes are the transmission of cultures through the flow of technology. New types of cultural
interactions and exchanges are brought about by technology, particularly the Internet. The globally
integrated information network has become a powerful tool in shaping how culture and
communication are transmitted across the globe. Nowadays, it is extremely easy to access an online
forum and hear an English man complaining about politics or watch a Brazilian dancing Samba.
3. Financescapes refer to the global movement of money, including currency, trade and commodity.
Countries nowadays are allowed to freely exchange good. However, it leads to the intensification of
competition amongst corporations.
4. Mediascapes refers to the electronic capabilities of production and dissemination of information
through media.
5. Ideoscapes are the global flow of ideologies. Mediascapes and ideoscapes have a close relationship
as they usually work upon the reliance of the other scape. Ideas can be disseminated via media
platforms. An example is Michael Jackson, famously known as the king of Pop. He used his fame to
promote world peace, equality and human rights through his songs. These songs were then
broadcasted on media and his ideology approached thousands of his fans around the world, which
helped shape their perceptions and inspire them.
Hybrid Culture
o Hybridization has become part of an ongoing trend in cultural production, with both the globalization
and localization of the culture industry. Hybridization, however, is not merely the mixing, blending and
synthesizing of different elements that ultimately forms a culturally faceless whole. In the course of
hybridization, cultures often generate new forms and make new connections with one another (Wang,
et, al 2005).
Topic 5: The Globalization of Religion
Globalization of Culture
o Religion is one of the cultural forces that spread globally. It established norms and value systems that
became dominant to all members around the world.
Globalization of Religion
o Today, most religions are not relegated to the countries where they began. Religions, have, in fact,
spread and scattered on a global scale. Globalization provided religions a fertile milieu to spread and
thrive. Globalization has also allowed religion or faith to gain considerable significance and importance
as a non-territorial touchstone of identity. Being a source of identity and pride, religion has always been
promoted by its practioners so that it could reach the level of globality and be embraced by so many
people as possible.
o Turner (2007) explained that globalization transforms the generic “religion” into a world-system of
competing and conflicting religions. This process of institutional specialization has transformed local,
diverse and fragmented cultural practices into recognizable systems of religion. Globalization has,
therefore, had the paradoxical effect of making religions more self-conscious of themselves as being
“world religions”. Such conflicts among world religions exhibit a solid proof confirming the erosion
and the failure of hybridization. Globalization, as stated in the above excerpt, makes religions more
conscious of themselves as being “world religions” reinforcing their respective specific identities.
These identities are strengthened by globalization and cannot, in any way, intermingle or hybridize.
o Religion seek to assert its identity in the light of globalization. As a result, different religious identities
come to the fore and assert themselves. Such assertions of religious identities constitute a defensive
reaction to globalization. Scholte(2005), in this respect, maintained, “At the same time as being pursued
through global channels, assertions of religious identity have, nationalists strivings, often also been
partly a defensive reaction to globalization”.
o It had been difficult for religion to cope with values that accompany globalization like liberalism,
consumerism, and rationalism. Such phenomena advocate scientism and secularism.
o This, in fact, pushed Scholte(2005) to speak of the anti-rationalist faiths. Since he equated rationalism
with globalization and considered religion anti-rationalist, it can be deduced that religion is anti-
globalization.
o According to Scholte(2005) “transplanetary relations helped to stimulate and sustain some renewals of
anti-rationalists faith, but global networks have more usually promoted activities involving rationalist
knowledge. Contemporary revivalist movements have largely replayed a long-term tendency –one that
well predates contemporary accelerated globalization –whereby certain religious circles have from time
to time revolted against modern secularism and scientism.”
o As Scholte(2005) made clear ”Accelerated globalization of recent times has enabled co-religionists
across the planet to have greater direct contact with one another. Global communications, global
organizations, global finance, and the like have allowed ideas of the Muslims and the universal
Christian Church to be given concrete shape as never before”.
Religions of the World
1. Buddhism
o chief problem in life is suffering caused by material desires
o remove material desires to realize nirvana
o Nirvana - state of bliss characterized by freedom from rebirths
o Buddha - person who realized spiritual freedom from cycle of birth and death.
o Buddhist - purify heart and let go of yearning and sensual desires.
o Meditation - ridding of desires to reach nirvana.
2. Christianity
o God is a loving god who offers personal relationships with Him
o Christians - those who are forgiven of their sins and entered a personal relationship with God.
3. Hinduism
o the world is an illusion
o goal of humanity is to free the soul from constant rebirth and reincarnation and to be absorbed
into cosmic consciousness called Brahman.
o Karma - central of Hindu belief; past deeds responsible for present situation
o Godly consciousness present in everyone and everything
o Monotheistic but regarded as Polytheistic (various representations of one Brahman).
o Vedas - book of knowledge for Hindus
4. Islam
o Life is to be lived in subordination to God’s will
o Devotional life centers on the confession
o Allah - one and sovereign ruler of the universe and source of good and evil
o Muhammad - messenger of Allah; last prophet
o 5 Religious Duties of Muslims:
1) Repeat a creed about Allah and Muhammad.
2) Recite certain prayers in Arabic five times a day.
3) Give to the needy.
4) One month each year, fast from food, drink, sex, smoking from sunrise to sunset.
5) Pilgrimage once in your lifetime to worship at the shire in Mecca.
o Quran - scripture of Islam.
5. Judaism
o There is a single god who not only created the universe but who continues to rule.
o Jews - chosen people of God with whom he has a covenant
o Death is not the end of the world and new world will come into existence.
o 10 Commandments - basis of serving God and relating to others
o Talmud - collection of rabbinical interpretations of Torah.
o Sabbath Observance - foundation of Jewish worship; 24 hours from sunset Friday to sunset
Saturday are time for worship and rest.
o Torah/Old Testament - 5 books of Hebrew Bible; form the most important constituent.
Summary
o Hindus acknowledge the one Brahman who can manifest in multitudes of gods.
o Buddhist says there is no deity.
o Muslims believe in a powerful but unknowable god.
o Christians believe in a loving god who created us to know Him.
o Jews believe God continues to rule the world and has covenant with them to keep His laws in exchange
for good deeds he does.