Globalization

1. Globalization A Brief Review

2. 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?

3. Another crack at defining globalization: A continues 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.

4. The Characteristics of Today’s Globalization Process • New and growing social networks overcoming traditional economic, political, cultural, and geographic boundaries • Expansion of social relations, activities, and interdependence • Intensification and acceleration of social exchanges • Globalization of human consciousness; people becoming conscious of global interdependence

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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?

8. The Cultural Dimension • What constitutes “culture?” • Do cultural interactions and exchanges lead to uniformity? • From blue jean, rock n role, 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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.