GLOBALISATION

INTRODUCTION

From the 1990s to the 2010s, globalization has been the most prominent idea which has been
affecting not only international relations but also the internal policies of nations. This idea is no
longer just about economic, political and social, but it can be understood only in totality, where its
effects have been explained in all the fields of economy, politics, society and culture. This idea has
also influenced the idea of ‘Sovereignty of Nations’ mostly in International Relations. Due to the
increasing economic integration, there has been a massive degression in the boundaries of nations
and their sphere of influence and on the other hand new ideas have emerged in the context of
globalization.

Globalization is a process, whereas a globalized world is the goal which is to be achieved. Basically, it
is an economic concept, but it has also political, cultural, technological dimensions. There is no
universal or fixed definition of globalization. Globalization can mean the absence of geographical
boundaries and the end of geographical distances. Every nation establishes its relations with other
nations by going outside its borders. Globalization is a process, where the market forces operate in
the domestic market to come out of the national boundaries and perform their mechanism. In this
process, the capitalists of any nation are in search of cheap labour and cheap raw materials for their
expansion.

In the present era, globalization is not only happening through economic activities, but it is also
increasing through the cultural and political scenario. Because of globalization, the distances
between nations are getting narrower and the concept of world market is taking its shape. It has
introduced the concept of ‘Global Village’ by uniting all nations. In this system of globalization, the
neo-liberal system of an ideal capitalism gets encouragement and protection.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF GLOBALIZATION

There are many differences among scholars regarding the origin of globalization. Most of the scholars
have the opinion that globalization results from the twentieth century, while some other scholars
believe that globalization did not arise suddenly in the twentieth century like Aladdin’s lamp, but it
has been in existence since ancient times and it has developed over a period of time. Used to be
Historians, sages and mahatmas, and kings then used to travel far and wide in search of alternative
routes in pursuit of wealth, power and knowledge. For example, the Silk route, which stretched from
China to Europe, connected a large part of the world and was economically affecting people’s lives. It
can be considered as the initial stage of globalization.

Even in the medieval period, the empires of Genghis Khan and Timur Lung added a large part of the
world to what can be considered an undeveloped form of modern globalization. But the beginning of
real globalization can be traced to the expansion of trade links between Europe and African countries
in the modern period, especially after the Industrial Revolution. The discovery of America by
Columbus in 1492 changed the entire event. Later in the 18th century, Portuguese merchants
established factories, expanding their trade on the African continent. The establishment of colonial
rule in Asia, Africa and Latin America were resulted by this process. Globalization of the 19th century
was mainly concerned with the processes of industrialization. With this, many household items were
produced at affordable prices and the demand for these items were always maintained because of
the continuous growth in population. The desire for ‘Trade control’ of the great powers spread to
Asia, Africa and Latin America as the expansion of imperialism and it caused many problems for the
following years. Some scholars are of the opinion that before World War I, globalization was led by
Britain and after World War II it was led by America.

The era of globalization that is talked about in the mid twentieth century is the expansion of
Multinational companies that were established in Europe and America and was related to the
technological development in the field of science, development of new knowledge and products on a
global scale. Most of the scientific discoveries made at this time were related to western countries.
The spread of Western culture was made possible through mass media, films, radio and television.
The role of international transport and mass media proved decisive in the spread of globalization.
Scholars are also of the opinion that the term globalization became common in the last two decades
of the twentieth century, i.e., 1980s and 1990s, after the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the
Soviet Union.

In short, it can be said that the present form of globalization is the results from a long event.

CULTURAL DIMENTIONS OF GLOBALIZATION

The cultural dimensions of globalisation can be characterised as the expansion, movement, and
intensification of diverse cultural influences over each other in the globe. However, we need to
understand that globalisation and culture have interacted with each other in complex ways.

The cultural dimension of globalisation involves the exchange of ideas, values, shared culture, and
even shared consumption patterns across cultures. At one level, it is considered to be a process that
involves the exchange and sharing of cultures, while on the other hand it is also looked upon with
skepticism.

Several implications of globalisation over culture have been considered as an aspect of new-age
colonialism. New age colonialism, in which the developed and western nations have been able to
sustain influence over the developing nations and post-colonial states not only through the market
but also through culture. By moulding the cultural preferences, ideas, values, and even mode of
thinking the west has been able to assure its dominance over the non-west or developing states. We
can observe that it is not just through the presence of the military but also through other means a
country can exert its influence over the rest of the world. Scholars argue that the popularisation of
western media, eating preferences, music, television channels have all played an instrumental role in
shaping cultural preferences across the world. For instance, we have often heard of the term
McDonaldisation of society. This term was developed by sociologist George Ritzer in his book in
1993, which denotes the presence of fast-food economic models and their influence over social
institutions as well.

Many scholars argue that cultural globalisation is not a linear process but rather a complex process
with various kinds of implications. Some of the implications of cultural globalisation have been
considered to be hybridity of culture, cultural homogenisation, and even conflict of cultures. The
views on cultural hybridity state that intermixing of different cultures has led to the formation of fluid
cultures rather than rigid cultures.

On the other hand, views on cultural homogenisation interpret the world as integrating into one and
assuming a standardised form, majorly stemming from the west and encouraging the process of
westernisation. It is held that cultural globalisation has been responsible for dislocating local cultures
and promoting western cultures, majorly through a homogenised consumer culture. For instance,
the American culture is said to have penetrated every corner of the world and assert its dominance
not only through the forces of the market but rather through the convergence of both economic and
cultural forces. The fact that companies like McDonald's and Coco-Cola have been able to exert
immeasurable influence over not only over the market but also the food habit and eating
preferences of millions of people over the globe indicate a strong influence of the western culture.

Globalisation has been also associated with the process of conflict escalation between cultures often
found expression through Samuel Huntington's (1996) famous work on the Clash of Civilisations. He
makes an argument that in the future, especially the post-cold war era the major source of conflict
will be the cultural and religious identities of the people, and wars would be between cultures.
Similarly, scholars maintain that globalisation may be a cause of conflict escalation. It that argued
that since globalisation will expose local cultures to various kinds of influences there will be a
renewed sense of cultural consciousness and hence may be a catalyst for conflict between cultures.

As much as globalisation is said to have impacted the local cultures and is often considered to
reorient and displace local cultures through the process of homogenisation, it has also been a
catalyst responsible for the re-assertion of the local cultures.

TECHNICAL DIMENSIONS OF GLOBALIZATION

It would not be wrong to say that technology has been one of the most important dimensions of
globalisation. Technology has been majorly responsible for introducing immense changes into the
nature of the flow of goods, business transactions, movement of people, and ways in which
information is shared and accessed. Technological globalisation is characterised by the diffusion of
technology across borders. Technology has only impacted the economic aspects of society, but also
social institutions, way of life, and the world view of people.

Technology has played a fundamental role in determining the scale and scope of business. The use of
the online mode of transactions, progress in research and development, use of monetary
instruments across national borders, interactions, and discussions through the online mode has
changed the landscape on how economic activities are conducted in contemporary times. The
proliferation of transnational organisations and multinational companies with sophisticated
machinery, advanced methods of manufacturing have changed production and employment
patterns. The advocates of globalisation argue, that technology in the era of globalisation, has been
an important factor in promoting economic growth and competition among nations. However, on the
other side, there is also an argument that the rapid rate of technological change and the inability of
many developing states to keep up with advancements, and the inability to garner the prerequisite
for participation have kept them away from reaping the benefits of technological globalisation as the
developed nations have been able to. Moreover, with various trading barriers and intellectual
property rights the actual and potential transfer of technological benefits for developing nations is
still questioned.

In the cultural and social sphere, technology has enabled people to regularly connect and be in
touch. The development of faster means of transportation has enabled people for greater
interaction, settlement in different parts of the world for job opportunities, family obligations, or
even for leisure and tourism. The constant interaction and movement of people facilitated by
technology and transportation have led to intermixing of cultures and values, even lifestyles. We can
see the presence of cuisines from one part of the world available in another part of the world with
its own regional and local adaptations. For instance, the Mc Aloo Tikki burger is an example of a
multinational corporation that has moulded its business model to cater to local preferences. Also, we
can find a host of food options when we travel to another country.
Technology has been able to shape social relations and impact cultures at the local level. At the
global level consumption of a common culture diffused by technology, media and transportation is a
major feature of the cultural and technological dimension of globalisation.

Apart from the economic and cultural aspects, technological globalisation has impacted the politics
of a nation. One of the most significant examples has been the use of social media groups such as
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other online platforms. People across the world continuously share
their views and opinions on different issues that may impact the politics of their host country and the
country. The use of the internet and social media sites has become a very powerful means to
influence public opinion these days. On the flip side, as much technology has been able to forge
constructive solidarities across communities over the world, the constant bombardment of
information and overflow of information have created challenges for accessing the right and correct
information. Another issue that poses a great challenge is the problem of fake news that is often
circulated to create fear, anxiety, and misinformation on various issues. Hence, one of the major
challenges around access to information is the tussle between information versus disinformation.

POLITICAL DIMENSIONS OF GLOBALISATION

In a world made up of powerful and highly stable nation-states, political globalization might seem like
a contradiction in terms. A state is the sovereign authority in a specified territory, with the right to
use force both to maintain internal order and to defend its territory against aggression. Sovereignty,
in turn, implies that the state is the ultimate authority in its territory, exercising legal jurisdiction over
its citizens and the groups and organizations they form in the conduct of daily life. The sovereign
state is not subject to any higher authority; no state has the right to expect compliance from any
other state, and no all-encompassing world state has emerged with authority over all national states.
Sometimes the United Nations is described as the potential nucleus of a world state, but it has no
compelling authority over its member states and it relies entirely on the action of its members to
enforce compliance with its resolutions and the sanctions it imposes on misbehaving states. Unlike in
the past, where colonialism was prevalent, the world now is composed almost entirely of sovereign
nation-states. Therefore, the significance to speak of political globalization seems to be very slight.
However, that is not the case in reality.

First, the very fact that the entire world, with the exception of the arctic areas and a few small
colonies and dependencies, is organized by a single type of political unit, the nation-state, is a sign of
globalization. Never before has the world been composed of only one type of political unit. The rapid
decolonization of the twentieth century, when more than 130 colonies or dependencies became
independent states, was a great political surprise, since most of these new states are too small and
weak to defend themselves effectively from more powerful states. This indicates that the principle of
state sovereignty itself has become a central feature of global society, and that a particular model of
political organization, the sovereign state, has achieved global status as the most desirable, viable,
and legitimate way of structuring political life.

Second, political globalization is indicated by the considerable uniformity exhibited by sovereign

states in terms of their goals, structures, programs, and internal operations. Almost all states assume
responsibility for a wide range of activities, including education, health care, management of the
economy and finance, retirement pensions, environmental protection, and poverty alleviation,
alongside the classic core concerns of states, foreign policy and military defense. Almost all states
have elaborate bureaucratic structures to administer the many programs they operate to meet their
responsibilities. And almost all states are formally structured (in their constitutions and legislation) as
democracies in which all citizens have an equal right to vote in elections that determine the holders
of executive and legislative positions. Thus, a common basic model of the state is in place
everywhere in the world, though states vary considerably in how they implement the model.

A third dimension of political globalization is the emergence in the past hundred years of
intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). IGOs are associations of states created to deal with
problems and manage issues that affect many countries at once or involve high levels of
interdependence among countries. Of the approximately 300 global IGOs and more than a thousand
regional or subregional IGOs, most are concerned with economic, technical, or political matters.
Most prominent are the United Nations and its associated agencies (UNESCO, the World Health
Organization, the International Labour Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and so
on), which constitute a central world political forum within which states conduct their international
relations.

ECONOMIC DIMENSION OF GLOBALISATION

The economic dimension of globalization encompasses the increasing interdependence and

integration of national economies into a global economy, driven by the flow of goods, services,
capital, technology, and labour across borders. Since World War II, economic globalization has been
far-reaching and intensive. The value of world trade has increased more than a thousand-fold,
growing considerably faster than the overall economy. Foreign investment has soared far beyond
earlier levels. Corporations with global reach have become dominant in many economic sectors,
from oil to computers, from automobiles to retail. The financial world has also grown smaller, as new
technologies have enabled traders to track information globally and to shift assets instantaneously.
While cross-border transactions are by no means friction-free, barriers of all sorts, especially tariffs
on goods and services, have come down. In contrast with the initial decades after World War II, when
many countries still pursued inwardly oriented growth strategies, almost all parts of the world are
highly integrated into a single world economy in which several “developing” countries, notably the
“BRIC” group of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, now play a much more significant role. The world's
economies have become more tightly interconnected as a result of globalization.

In this more integrated system, events in one place can quickly ripple through the rest of the world,
as was dramatically demonstrated in the global economic crisis that hammered the world economy
starting in 2007 – The Great Recession. The initial blow was the bursting of the unsustainable price
bubble in the US housing market, which had ballooned during years of low interest rates, careless
lending by banks and other financial institutions, and carefree borrowing by consumers who blithely
assumed that housing prices would rise forever. The bursting of the bubble sent shock waves through
the world economy as financial institutions suddenly found themselves facing a severe liquidity
crunch. What made the shock waves all the more damaging was the fact that housing prices had also
ballooned in many other countries, rendering their financial systems highly vulnerable to a credit
squeeze.

These upheavals in the world economy reveal the reality and the danger of globalization. Skeptical
voices began to challenge the prevailing view of globalization’s beneficial effects. Scholars question
the uniqueness of the late twentieth century. The sixteenth and the nineteenth centuries already
witnessed dramatic integration that set the stage for all subsequent developments. Financial markets
may operate differently due to new computer technology, and the geopolitical context may be
different due to the demise of the Soviet Union, but these are not qualitative changes. Other skeptics
argue not that capitalism has always been global but that it is not yet fully globalized. For example,
they suggest that the real roots of economic crises, such as the recent Great Recession and the Asian
“contagion” of the 1990s, lay in bad domestic policies. International markets can exploit and
aggravate poor policies and practices, but they are not the primary cause of a contagious crisis. The
involvement of countries in the world economy varies greatly in any case. While some small
economies, such as the Netherlands, are highly dependent on exports, for large countries, especially
the United States, imports and exports still represent only a relatively small portion of total GDP. For
these skeptics, the whole notion of integration is misleading, since the core of the world economy is
only perhaps 30 of the world’s 200 countries – Western Europe and North America, and a few
countries of Pacific Asia, which account for the vast bulk of world capital and nearly all of the largest
multinational corporations. Globalization, from this perspective, amounts to only modestly more
intense ties among countries, corporations, and consumers in the industrialized democracies.

DISAGREEMENTS AND PROTESTS TO GLOBALISATION

Globalization has been the most controversial phenomenon since the late 1990s to the present time.
This controversy has divided the realms of thought, politics and economy between supporters and
criticizers of globalization. All the critics of anti-globalization are of the opinion that in the last years
of the twentieth century the big ‘Ruling Elites’ of the world created a network of capitalist
globalization to spread the world market for their personal interests. The triangular confluence of
Bretton Woods institutions, the developed capitalist countries of the West and the East, and
Multinational corporations together have created global structures whose strategy is to impose
globalization from above on a reluctant world. Critics of globalization oppose the uncontrolled
authority of large multinational companies, implementing that authority through trade agreements
and weakly regulated financial market. These critics alleged MNCs violate labour protection
conditions and standards, labour hiring and compensation standards, environmental protection
standards, national legislative authority, independence and sovereignty in order to maximize profits.
Under the pressures of globalization, the structure and size of capital markets in developing
countries have transformed over the past thirty years. It’s emphasis on deregulation of capital
markets has been a major aim of the structural adjustment program supported by the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The struggle against capitalist globalization is being waged at two levels all over the world. While the
grassroots mobilizations are being carried out, there have been decentralized public campaigns of
direct actions and civil disobedience at the global level. Some of the prominent grassroots
organizations are: Narmada Bachao Andolan in India, Landless People’s Movement in South Africa,
etc. At the global level, by the People’s Global Action Network and the World Social Forum, various
forces active against globalization are brought into mass protests and mass gatherings, showing
solidarity. Anti-globalization movements are also known by other names like Global Justice
Movement, Alter Globalization Movement, Anti-Corporate Globalization Movement.

ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES TO GLOBALISATION

In the era of globalization, the imposition of free trade policies and the increasing privatization of
social services, the worldwide environment and labour have facilitated the accumulation of wealth
for the capitalists. Neo-liberal globalization, the highest level of capitalism, now dominates every
major sector of the global economy. Over the past decades, international corporations in particular
sectors have increased control over national governments and international organizations. The social
and environmental values of neo-liberal globalization are prohibitive. Its major global trends are
increasing inequality and poverty, political instability and global climate change. The neo-liberal
globalization, which has adversely affected the lives of every citizen of the nation and the world has
gathered and intensified all these. Considering these major trends and the current global economic
crisis, we can conclude that the neo-liberal globalization ignored the interests of the vast majority of
the people and is unstable and questionable in both economic and environmental terms.

In this context, they include the alternatives which are suggested by the supporters and thinkers of
alternative globalization agendas of the global level. In this conflict of globalization, there is capitalist
sovereignty, based on privilege and dominance, while on the other, there is the idea of alternative
globalization which is based on values like freedom, unity and social justice. This option suggests a
sustainable strategy of action at the national and international levels.

CONCLUSION

Globalization is a multidimensional process and because of globalization there have been vast
changes in all spheres of human life. While some positive results are visible to human life, it has also
some negative consequences. The revolutionary changes in governance, telecommunications,
education, health sector by globalization have made human life easy and convenient, while on the
other hand it has terrible negative effects on the poor countries and especially the weaker sections
of different nations. There is a decline in the quality and fulfilment of their basic needs like
employment, health, education, housing.

There are different views on the nature of globalisation and its implications. The advocates and the
skeptics of globalisation have argued on the different consequences and the contemporary nature of
globalisation. However, despite the prevalence of different opinions on the nature of globalisation
we can state that globalisation is not completely a recent phenomenon, the world, in fact, was
connected in earlier times as well. However, it is the very scale, speed, intensity, and the integration
of world markets, in which a sudden risk or shock can shake the faith of a nation or community is one
of the most distinctive characteristics of the current nature of globalisation