Recent Issues in International Relations
Chapter – 12
Table of Contents
GLOBALIZATION
Meaning of the Term
- International relations (IR) deals with emerging issues impacting politics, economy, security, and environment in a complex global order.
- Issues like globalization, terrorism, energy, and ecology have become significant and require academic analysis.
- The term globalization is difficult to define due to its usage across economic, social, political, and cultural contexts.
- Phrases like ‘globalization of civil society’, ‘globalization of American culture’, or ‘globalization of cricket’emphasize the worldwide presence of certain phenomena.
- In IR, the economic and political aspects of globalization are key to understanding its impact.
- Globalization is primarily seen as an economic concept, especially since the rise of liberal economy over mercantilist economy in the early 1980s.
- Today, globalization mainly refers to the expansion of economic activities such as trade, movement of capital, goods, labour, and communication systems beyond national borders.
- The socio-political consequences of economic globalization are significant, affecting both domestic and international economy and politics.
- Examples of globalization’s political impact include Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) from the US to India, which became a campaign issue in the 2008 US presidential elections.
- The popularity of Japanese products in the US raised concerns about globalization’s effect on local markets.
- A workable definition of globalization: It refers to economic activities (trade, capital, goods, labour, communication) crossing boundaries, leading to greater interconnectedness in the world, with significant effects on socio-political sectors.
- Globalization is used in various contexts, such as the globalization of baseball, rock music, civil society, and Hindi films, signifying its global reach across various activities.
Globalization: Different Views
- Globalization has sparked diverse and contradictory views from scholars worldwide.
- A view from the rich industrial North supports globalization, claiming it benefits both the rich and the poor.
- This view suggests that global market integration helps the rich access cheap labour and gives the poor continuous access to capital and goods.
- Globalization, they argue, helps integrate national economies into a connected global market, promoting growth-centered liberal economies that can narrow the gap between rich and poor nations.
- Supporters believe national boundaries are becoming less important as global economic activities impact both developed and developing countries.
- Examples include petroleum price hikes affecting domestic economies worldwide and US outsourcing to India, which impacts both countries.
- Supporters claim IT revolution has made the world smaller, fostering global communication and trade, benefiting both the North and South.
- N. R. Narayana Murthy stated that economic liberalization in India (1991) helped industries like IT thrive.
- The IT revolution has increased global interconnectedness, challenging concepts like state-controlled economies and sovereignty.
- A second view from the underdeveloped South and some scholars from the North criticizes globalization for benefiting only rich nations.
- Critics argue that the North-South divide persists, and millions of people remain excluded from the benefits of globalization.
- They believe that global market integration has not replaced national economies and that states must maintain control over their economies for the benefit of their people.
- These critics argue that regional economic blocs (Europe, America, Asia) create rivalries, undermining the benefits of free trade.
- A third view believes the problem lies in how globalization is managed, not globalization itself.
- Joseph Stiglitz advocates for ‘globalization with a more human face’, emphasizing the need for proper management.
- Stiglitz proposes: (1) reforming the global financial system (IMF, WTO, World Bank), (2) adopting equitable and democratic growth policies, and (3) shifting responsibility for development to the less-advanced nations.
- Properly managed globalization could promote democracy, civil society, and sustainable development.
- Contradictory views on globalization reflect its wide-reaching impact on people’s lives worldwide.
- Globalization has influenced trade, democracy, civil society, and the concept of state sovereignty.
- The rise of globalization challenges state sovereignty, as global free trade and communication revolutions threaten traditional state power.