Globalization Perspectives and Narratives

1. Globalization Perspectives and Narratives

2. Primary Objectives of the Lecture Outline the main features of the liberal hyperglobalist position through a examination of the work of Oheme • Highlight the main features of critical (semi) hyperglobalist position through a brief analysis of the work of Susan Strange

3. Outline the main features of the sceptical approach to globalization through a examination of the work of Hirst and Thompson • Assess the extent to which the original hyperglobalist and sceptical positions on globalization have been superceded by more ‘nuanced’ transformationalist accounts of globalization

4. Structure of the Lecturer • Section One • Briefly contextualize the emergence of Oheme’s ‘borderless world’ idea by examining lineages of idea of globalization • Examination of Oheme the “Man” and the context out of which his work emerged

5. Examination of his Work • Examination of Work of Susan Strange and her Ontological Assumptions • Criticism of Hyperglobalist Approach

6. Section Two • Examination of Hirst and Thompson Work • Criticism of their Work

7. Section Three • Exploration of Transformation Position and criticism of its internal coherence

8. Section One • The Prehistory of Globalization Theory • Marx 1848 “The Bourgeoisie creates a world after its own image” • Weber: Exercise of Power in Modern Societies • Rostow: Mass consumption society 1960s • Bell: The End of Ideology 1960s • McLuhan: Global Village 1960s

9. With exception of McLuhan it difficult to label any of these as globalization theorists but read in hindsight it possible to see how aspects arguments resonate with contemporary globalization debates • However, they do discuss Convergence of a sort

10. The coming of Ohmae • Japanese, PhD from MIT, Senior Partner in McKinsey. Wife name is Jeannette • Wrote “The Borderless World” 1990 • Context: Collapse of Soviet Union and strong free market governments in US and UK

11. Basic Argument: The title does not lie • But more detail…. • “The nation state has become an unnatural, even dysfunctional, unit for organizing human activity and managing economic endeavor in a borderless world”

12. Attempts to regulate counterproductive • The national economy is a myth and the nation state is finished.

13. For Ohmae the world consists of a number of region states which may transcend national boundaries or not (the Southeast England) that are immersed in deep networks with other region states throughout the world • It is important to aware of Ohmae unusual use of term ‘state’ • Ohmae is very positive developments. He sees the emergence of borderless world as unambiguously good.

14. Susan Strange • Professor at Warwick! • Summary of her position “ the impersonal forces of world market… are now more powerful than the state’s to whom ultimate political authority over society is supposed to belong ” • The state is not likely to disappear however it is in retreat and has become defective

15. Strange was not a normative supporter of free market capitalism, she was social democratic • In arguing that the state can no longer regulate markets and protect citizens she is not arguing that the state ought not to these things • Also pessimistic about International Organizations • Importantly Strange sees state and market relationship as zero sum

16. Strange was also a keen student of ‘global mafias’

17. She makes the point that the same processes that have facilitated globalization of ‘legitimate firms’ have facilitated the creation of increasingly elaborate global criminal networks

18. Criticisms of Hyperglobalisations • Quite simply they exaggerate the extent to which a unified global market exists (see Hirst and Thompson below) • Ohmae fundamentally misunderstands the nature of ‘regional states’ and the role of central government in creating and sustaining them • Ohmae method is problematic. He simply proceeds by ascertain • State’s retain far more power then Ohmae and Strange believe

19. They fail to understand ontological relationship between state and market properly • Particularly Ohmae fails to understand geo and cultural politics • Quite simply state’s retain far more power than they give them credit for

20. Section Two • Hirst and Thompson • It is important to make clear at the onset that both are (are in Paul Hirst case were. R.I.P 2003 57) social democrats • The idea of Globalization is essentially a myth, which serves powerful interests. The global economy is less integrated than in the C19th. The exceptional period was 1920-60. This is normality.

21. The argument is very empirically based • They fight the idea of globalization on four fronts. Through a examination of patterns of finance, trade, migration and direct investment

22. Trade to GDP in 1913 and 1995 • France 35.4% and 36.6% • Germany 35.1% and 38.7% • Japan 31.4% and 13.1% • UK 44.7% to 42.6% • US 11.2% to 19.0%

23. Financial Globalization • Remains a significant correlation between domestic savings and investments • “Between 1991-5 for every dollar saved 67 cents would been invested domestically”

24. As for multinationals The gross product of foreign affiliates accounted for 6% of global GDP in 1994 Practically no investment in the majority of the 3rd World

25. Finally on the mobility of people legal immigration to US has declined from over million a year turn of C19th and C20th to 600000 in 1980 • They argue that countries continue to control borders

26. Criticisms of Hirst and Thompson • They capture the moment but not the trend • Too empirical • They only engage most radical of globalization theorists • Question marks quality, interpretation and validity of much empirical work. Much of it is now dated

27. They ignore technology • Question marks about the implications of their work for governance • Real world events suggest a neo-liberal convergence of sorts • Fundamentally misunderstand the position of the third world • I wish, I wish, I wish I was in Kansas

28. Take a Two min break

29. Section Three Transformationalists • Very Broad Grouping difficult to offer any clear definition of the school • Sense in which the present era is quantitatively and qualitatively different from what has gone before • Globalization is not a teleological process, contested no fixed end point • Multifaceted process but different scholars emphasize different aspects of the process

30. The state is not in retreat, still less is it obsolete • However it is changing • Beyond this it is difficult to say that much about transformalist position because extreme diversity within the group

31. Some transformalists argue that changes are very radical and leading to convergence of different states around a new liberal model. A example would be Jayasuryia. Others stress the incremental nature changes and would stress that different models of capitalism remain viable, example (Weiss)

32. Some stress the significance of development of suprastate governance structures and the possibilities of developing emancipatory systems of international governance (Rorden Wilkinson). Some are less optimist (Phillip McMichael) • In a sense many of the old debates of skeptics and hyperglobalists are being replayed in a less extreme form and under new rules

33. Conclusions and Main Points • The early hyperglobalist and sceptical positions both contained a germane of truth and critical weaknesses. • The essential questions that have dominated these debates have yet to conclusively resolved and played out in different ways in the ‘transformationalist literature’.

34. Different transformationist accounts form the core of reading for this course. • Next week session on historical roots of globalization will help us make more sense debates between sceptics, hyperglobalists and transformationalists

35. Thursday 4‑5 H2.03 • Sarun Haetanurak • Katrina Mooleedhar • Jie Yu • Deepa Arjan • Joanna Eames • Nina Rathbone • Tom Callow • Astrid Nordin • Mark Williams • Toby Danell • Stuart Baker • Oilver James • James Clarke • Joseph Bainers • Arjumand Amin • Edwin Cher • Jan Maly

36. Office Hours Moved again • Monday 4-5, Weds 5-6 • www.u8development.org.uk

37. Feel free to substitute the Introduction to Held, McGrew, Goldblatt and Perraton for the current Held reading • Also feel free skip final chapter Hirst and Thompson if pushed for time