The Contemporary

World (An introduction)

By: Diana Veronica T. Buot-Montejo

Course Description:
The Contemporary World explores the practical, engaging,
and relevant ways in which the global structures and
processes operate in our lives. It introduces and primarily
discusses globalization to students in an accessible,
appealing, and significant way. Discussions on globalization
have roots the different disciplines in the social sciences
and in other fields of study. Through this book, the
different competencies, skills, and values are hoped to be
achieved by the students. Likewise, teachers and students
teaching and taking courses in the social sciences will be
able to appreciate the importance of globalization in today's
classroom and ultimately, in society.
Osama in the Globalized World
 Telecasting from a cave
– The contradictions: the outfit, AK-47, etc.
 CNN and Al-Jazeera collaborating
 Osama and international arm trade
Economics of terrorism (and crime)
 Globalization and Terrorism
– Has globalization encouraged radical ideologies?
– Is globalization responsible for the spread of such
ideologies
– Has globalization made the job of terrorists easier?
• There was a time when most regions were
economically self-sufficient. Locally produced
foods, fuels and raw materials were generally
processed for local consumption. Trade between
different regions was quite limited.

• Today, the economies of most countries are

so interconnected that they form part of a single,
interdependent global economy.
 So, what is
GLOBALIZATION??
 -Many scholars gave and tried to
formulate its definitions

 -resulted in different , sometimes

contradicting views about the concept
WHY????
 It cannot be contained within a specific
time frame, all people and all situations
(Al-Rhodan, 2006)
 Globalization encompasses a multitude of
processes that involves the economy,
political systems and culture
 Positive Connotations
 The process of world shrinkage, of
distances getting shorter, things moving
closer. It pertains to the increasing ease
with which somebody on one side of the
world can interact, to mutual benefit with
somebody on the other side of the world.
- Thomas Larsson, 2001
 Negative Connotations
 Regression

 Colonialism

 Destabilization
 Attempting to define
globalization:
Classifications:

 Broad and inclusive

 Narrow and exclusive

 Broad and Inclusive
 “ the compression of time and space”
- David Harvey, 1998
 “…all those processes by which the peoples of the world are
incorporated into a single world society.”
-Martin Albrow, 1998
 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 miels away and vice versa
- Anthony Giddens, 1990
 …globalization means the onset of the borderless world…
– - Kenichi Ohmae
 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
- Robert Cox, 1999
 ….globalization is a process along four dimensions: economic
globalization, formation of world opinion, democratization,
and political globalization. This was rounded off with the
assertion that changes along one these dimensions (such as
economic globalization) elicited changes among the other
dimension
- George Modelski, 1998
 Recent Definition:

 Globalization is a transplanetary process

or a set of processes involving
increasing liquidity and the growing
multidirectional flows of people, objects,
places and information as well as the
structures they encounter and create
that are barriers to, or expedite those
flows….
-Ritzwer, 2015
Another crack at defining
globalization:
A continuous process leading to free
movements and transfers of goods and
services and factors of production as well
as information and technology across
national borders aided and supported by
national and international market oriented
economic, political, and legal institutions in
an economically, politically, and socially
interconnected and interdependent world.
 The Characteristics of Today’s
Globalization Process
 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.
 The second quality of globalization is reflected in
the expansion and the stretching of social
relations, activities, and interdependencies.

 E.g. Today's financial markets stretch around the

globe, and electronic trading occurs around the
clock. Gigantic shopping malls have emerged on
all continents continents, offering those
consumers who can afford it commodities from
all regions of the world - including products
whose various components were manufactured
in different countries.
 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.

- Manfred Steger 2008

 Points to consider when
interpreting the definition:
 First, the perspective of the person who
defines globalization shapes its definition

 Second, to paraphrase the sociologist

Cesare Poppi: Globalization is the debate
and the debate is globalization

 Lastly, globalization is a reality.

 How does globalization occur?
 What is driving globalization? Is it one
cause or a combination of factors?
 Is globalization a uniform or an uneven
process?
 Is globalization extending modernity or is
it a radical break?
 How does globalization differ from
previous social developments?
 Does globalization create new forms of
inequality and hierarchy?
 Metaphors of Globalization

Solid
- Refers to barriers that makes movement
difficult
Liquid
- Increasing ease of movement of people,
things, information and places in the
contemporary world
Characteristics of Liquidity:
 1. Today’s liquid phenomena change
quickly and their aspects, spatial and
temporal, are in continuous fluctuation.

 2. Movement is difficult to stop

 3. Made political boundaries more

permeable to the flow of people and
things
FLOWS
 Food

 Financial System

 Migration

 Information
 The Elephant in the Room
 A multi-dimensional phenomenon:
 Economic dimension
Free trade vs. protection
The old equity and efficiency dilemma
Economy and the environment
 Political dimension
 Social dimension
 Cultural dimension
 Information and knowledge dimension
The role of media
 Classification of Globalization
Theories:
A process that increases:

 Homogeneity
- Refers to the increasing sameness in the
world as cultural inputs, economic factors,
and the political orientations of societies
expand to create common practices, same
economies and similar forms of government
- E.g. Cultural imperialism, Media Imperialism
 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
 The Economic Dimension
 From the prehistoric period to the modern time
 The post-WWII period before the 1980s;
government activism; Marshall plan, GATT, IMF,
World Bank, etc.
 The collapse of USSR and the emergence of the
new (neo-liberal) economic order with China as
major player; trade and financial liberalization,
worldwide economic growth, concerns about
income and wealth distribution; enhanced roles
of international economic institutions
 Political Dimension
 Nation states and their origins
 International norms and laws
 Nationalism, international disputes and wars
 State Sovereignty and intergovernmental
organizations
 International organizations and treaties
 Globalization and national sovereignty: national
governments losing their control over their
relationships with other states (and in some
cases their domestic affairs) and yielding to
multinational and international organizations and
multinational economic powers
 Are nation states becoming a thing of the past?
 The Cultural Dimension
 What constitutes “culture?”
 Do cultural interactions and exchanges lead to
uniformity?
 From blue jean, rock n roll, and McDonald’s to Starbucks and
I-pods
 Why are most cultural conversions seem to favor Western
cultural phenomena?
 The role of commerce
 Western culture and democracy
 The role of media; media concentration
 Globalization of languages
 Cultural conversions and the environment
 The Discontents with Globalization
 While benefiting many in different parts of the world the
globalization process has led to the disfranchisement of the
poorest of the poor in many developing countries as well as
some developed countries resulting in a widening gap
between the poor and the rich.
 In their efforts to adhere to the prescribed economic and
financial liberalization (promoted and managed by the
West) many governments in the developing world have
curtailed or abandoned numerous social programs essential
to their economic development. (Education, healthcare,
etc.)
 Insufficient concern for regional and global environment
has put many populations as well as the world as a whole
at risk while at the same time national governments find
themselves weakened, by a combination of economic and
political pressures from within and without, in dealing with
environmental consequences of globalization.
 Discontents (continued)
 The interaction between political and economic forces in
managing the globalization process seems to have been
directed more by politics than by economics.
 The unfair (excessive) influence of the powerful interest
groups, particularly the ones in the West, in setting the
rules of the game and shaping the global economy;
these rules have in some cases made the poorest
countries worse off.
 The conflicts (and competition) between small local
businesses and large multinationals often have led to the
disappearance of the former.
 The economic system (American style capitalism) forced
upon developing countries is not appropriate for many of
them and has in fact harmed large segments of their
population.
 Discontents (continued)
 The international organizations (WB, IMF,
WTO, etc.) managing the globalization
process are run by appointed (non-
elected) officials mostly from rich
countries whose sensitivity to the
problems and needs of developing
countries is at best limited. Policies and
decisions undertaken by these
organizations tend to favor the political
and economic interests of the rich
countries their corporate citizens.
 Discontents (continued)
 The globalization process is being run in
very undemocratic ways. The rules and
policies are made by appointed officials
mostly from western countries who are
not accountable to even those countries’
electorates. Developing countries that are
most affected by the actions and decisions
of the managing international
organizations have little or no say in the
policy making process.
References: