CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF GLOBALIZATION

 LEARNING OUTCOMES

01
Differentiate the competing
conceptions of globalization.

At the end of the 02

chapter, the students
are expected to:
Identity, the underlying philosophies
of the varying definitions of
globalization.

03
Agree on a working definition of
globalization for the course.
 WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION?
A. SOCIOLOGICAL VIEWPOINT

“intensification of worldwide social relations which link

01 distant localities in such a way that local events are shaped
by events occurring many miles away and vice versa”
(Giddens 1990:64).

02
“refers both to the compression of the world and the
intensification of consciousness of the world as a
whole…”(Robertson 1992:8).
ROBERTSON
 WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION?
A. SOCIOLOGICAL VIEWPOINT

“the compression of time and space and the annihilation of

03 distance” (Harvey, 1989).

DAVID HARVEY

04 “a process of interaction and integration among the people,

companies, and governments of different nations, a
process driven by international trade and investment and
aided by information technology.”
SUNNY LEVIN INSTITUTE
 WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION?
A. SOCIOLOGICAL VIEWPOINT

“This process [globalization] has effects on the

05 environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic
development and prosperity, and on human physical well-
being in societies around the world” (Steger, 2005).

MANFRED STEGER
 WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION?
B. POLITICAL VIEWPOINT
“internationalization and multinationalization are phases
that precede globalization…
06 Globalization heralds the end of the state system as the
nucleus of human activity” (DeSousa Santos, 2002:68).
GRUPO DE LISBOA (1994)
“…the activities and developments in globalization have
taken place outside the formal structures of the nation-
state…

Globalization marks the increasing irrelevance of the

nation-state, whose status as the dominant political
organization was acknowledged by the Treaty of
Westphalia.”
 WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION?
C. ECONOMIC VIEWPOINT
Globalization is dominated by global economic activities
like:
07
1. The neoliberal regime
2. The reduction of tariffs
3. The creation of transnational corporations
4. The improvement of multilateral trade organizations
 REASONS FOR THE COMPETING DEFINITIONS OF
GLOBALIZATION

ACADEMIC CIRCLES TRADITIONAL HISTORIANS

SCHOLARS & POLITICAL SCIENTISTS
(1960s and 1970s) ECONOMISTS
(1990s)

• Globalization as a • Social Sciences ( political • Historians are more • Political scientists focus
phenomenon has been science, economics, interested in determining more on the impact of the
studied by the various history, sociology) and whether globalization is forces of globalization
academic disciplines philosophy used their really a modern such as the international
respective analytical tools phenomenon. non-governmental
and methods to explain organizations and
globalization. • Economists look into the international
changing patterns of organizations, on the
• They can only shed light international trade and state and vice versa.
on certain aspects of commerce as well as the
globalization. unequal distribution of
wealth.
GLOBALIZATION
Steger (2005)
AS A PROCESS AS A CONDITION AS AN IDEOLOGY
 GLOBALIZATION AS A PROCESS

GLOBALIZATION

– A multidimensional set of social processes that generate and increase

“worldwide social interdependence and exchanges while at the same
time fostering a growing awareness of deepening connections between
the local and the distant” (Steger, 2005:13).

– A compression of time and space brought about by changes in

technology and the political, cultural and economic aspects of human
existence
PERIODIZATION OF GLOBALIZATION: THE ECONOMIC VIEW

• He dated the emergence of

world economy much earlier to
3,500 BCE.

• He said that the big expansion

of global trade happened in
post-600 period.
3,500 BCE
(John Hobson, 2004) • He concluded that 500 CE was
the beginning of globalization,
which particularly refers to
oriental globalization.
PERIODIZATION OF GLOBALIZATION: THE ECONOMIC VIEW

• Globalization began with the

unfolding of commercial
revolution back in 1000 BCE.

• Complex commercial ties

linked a vast portion of the
world including eastern
1,000 BCE Mediterranean, South China,
(Nederveen Pieterse, 2012) India, Europe, West Africa,
Indonesia, Central Asia, the
North Pacific and the Western
Pacific (Nederveen Pieterse,
2012).
PERIODIZATION OF GLOBALIZATION: THE ECONOMIC VIEW

• The era of commercial

revolution also coincided with a
revolution in the metaphysical,
intellectual, ethical and
religious aspects of man’s life.

• Major new traditions developed

1,000 BCE in religion and ethical
(Nederveen Pieterse, 2012) philosophy: Zoroastrianism,
Buddhism, Confucianism and
the teachings of Lau Tzu,
Judaism, Greek philosophy,
and Christianity.
PERIODIZATION OF GLOBALIZATION: THE ECONOMIC VIEW

• These significant
developments:

– indicate growing global

awareness.

– show that globalization goes

1,000 BCE beyond the economic and
(Nederveen Pieterse, 2012) material.

– Include other aspects of

human existence like
culture, politics and society.
PERIODIZATION OF GLOBALIZATION: THE ECONOMIC VIEW

• The emergence of world

economy should be taken as a
threshold of globalization.

• World Economy – is the

merger of economic worlds
(Braudel).
1200s CE
(Braudel and Abu-Lughod) • For Braudel and Abu-Lughod,
the world economy emerged in
the period 1200s which is
concurred in by researches on
Asia and Southeast Asia
PERIODIZATION OF GLOBALIZATION: THE ECONOMIC VIEW

• Globalization is synonymous to
permanent global trade, which
began when all the major
regions of the world “exchange
products continuously…and on
a scale that generated deep
and lasting impacts on all
1571 CE trading partners” (Flyn and
(Flyn and Geraldez, 2006) Geraldez:244).

• The birth of globalization took

place in 1571, the year Manila
was founded as a Spanish
entrepot connecting Asia and
the Americas.
PERIODIZATION OF GLOBALIZATION: THE ECONOMIC VIEW

POLITICAL ECONOMIST /
MARXIST PERSPECTIVE

• The origin of globalization can

be traced back to the 1500s
following Marx’s dictum “the
conquest of the world market
1500s and 1800s marks the birth of modern
(Hobson, 2004) capitalism.”

• 1500s and 1800s is the birth of

modern capitalism and marks
the historic moments of
globalization.
PERIODIZATION OF GLOBALIZATION: THE ECONOMIC VIEW

CRITICISMS

• Eurocentrism
• Intellectual Apartheid
• Earlier forms and
infrastructures of Capitalism
are ignored
1500s and 1800s
(Hobson, 2004)
PERIODIZATION OF GLOBALIZATION: THE SOCIOLOGICAL VIEW

• In sociology, the timeline

stretches wider since the point
of interest is modernity, which
began during the period of
Renaissance, followed by the
Enlightenment then the French
Revolution and lasted up until
the period of Industrialization in
1400 - 1800
the late 1700s and throughout
(Renaissance – Industrial Revolution)
the 1800s.
PERIODIZATION OF GLOBALIZATION: THE SOCIOLOGICAL VIEW

• Scholars specializing in
international relations, political
science, media studies, and
economics date globalization
from the 1970s , with the
formation of global value
chains and accelerated
communication Nederveen
1970s Pieterse, 2012).
PERIODIZATION OF GLOBALIZATION: THE SOCIOLOGICAL VIEW

• Harvey provides a historical

overview of neo-liberalism in the
context of capitalist expansion,
and the emergence of a new form
embedded liberalism in the 1950s
and 60s.

1980 – 2000 • He identifies the first experiment

with neoliberal state formation
(David Harvey)
(p. 7) as the Chilean case after the
coup of September 11, 1973. This
was referenced as very similar to
the Turkish case under the
military regime after 1980.
PERIODIZATION OF GLOBALIZATION: THE SOCIOLOGICAL VIEW

• In the case of Turkish neo-

liberalization, the World Bank
and IMF imposed privatization
and deregulation policies,
similar to the dictatorial
Pinochet regime in Chile.

1980 – 2000 • Freedom becomes an

(David Harvey) illusionary phenomenon and
losses its original meaning.
According to Harvey, the good
freedoms are lost, but bad
ones take over (p. 37).
GLOBALIZATION AS A PROCESS

GLOBALIZATION

A multidimensional set of social processes that generate and increase

“worldwide social interdependence and exchanges while at the same time
fostering a growing awareness of deepening connections between the local
and the distant” (Steger, 2005:13).

A compression of time and space brought about by changes in technology

and the political, cultural and economic aspects of human existence