Tradition/Modernity Religion Local/National Identity Indigenous or Ethnic Culture Communal Loyalty Emphasis on Unique History Non-material Values Defense of Territory Landscape Preservation (esp. symbolic) Materialism Amorphous or Consumer Identity Economic and Cultural Imports Individual Ambitions Universal Experience Material Values Connections with nongroup members Imported Elements

Theories of Globalization

Pieces of the Puzzle: What we know so far Improved communication technologies Globalization of Trade and Production (MNCs) McGlobalization (v. tradition) Conflict between States and Fragmentation of States Development: Uneven development and social justice Rise of social protest

Globalization: Cliché or Explanation of Global Change? Does contemporary globalization really represent a novel global condition? Is power increasingly dispersed or does it continue to reside in the hands of elites? Will structural adjustment, free trade and the market reduce global poverty? What is the role of the state within globalization? Does contemporary globalization impose new limits to political freedoms? How can globalization be civilized and democratized?

The Globalization Debate Agreement on intensification of Interconnectedness Disagreement on: –Conceptualization –Driving forces –Periodization –Impacts –Trajectories: where is it going?

Alternative Perspectives The Hyperglobalist Perspective The Skeptical Perspective The Transformationalist Perspective

Hyperglobalist Thesis NEW ERA IT’S ABOUT THE ECONOMY, STUPID REDUCTION OF SOVERIGNTY –Borderless World –Hollowing out of the State WINNERS AND LOSERS –New global division of labor

The Skeptical Thesis Two types of Skeptics –Anti-globalization critics –Political Skeptics

Anti-globalization critics Global economy IS a monolithic and hegemonic process Critical of impacts of global economy, eg. “Money Lenders” Global capitalism is bad for poor people Oppositional social movements Need to fight against MNCs and WTO

The Political Skeptics Thesis Globalization is a myth: –global interdependency are not unprecedented. –Really just heightened levels of internationalization between national economies Regionalization –Three major blocks and national governments remain powerful: North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific State is still a key player World will still remain controlled by power blocks

Skeptics Critique of their world Increasing uneven development No real new international division of labor Global corporation is a myth Economic marginalization leads to fragmentation and growth of fundamentalism “global governance” and economic internationalization are Western projects

Transformationalist Thesis Rise of new actors at various scales New patterns of stratification among actors –State, NGOs, Civil Society, Transnational and Global Governance No Clear Endpoint: Open ended outcome New opportunities arise with globalization State is a catalyzer, but interacts in new wayswith other actors

The Global Economy Global Finance Regimes (IMF, Private Banks) Global Production –MNCs/Trade Networks Global Trade –World Trade Organization (WTO) Development –Multilateral Institutuions: IMF /World Bank –UN: Unicef, IFAD, FAO –Bilateral Aid (USAID, DANIDA, IDRC, etc. –NGOs (Oxfam, etc.)

Money Lenders: Two sides of the Global Economy Why start here? Financial Institutions Origins Critiques Critics Power relations: who controls whom?

Global Economy in Historical Context Early Patterns of Global Finance and Trade, largely supported state building, war making, and colonization. –14 th C.-Florentine Merchant Banks (Peruzzi Company) Financed Trade with Asia “Supercompany”: also produced cloth transnationally –16 th -18 th C.- Antwerp, Belgium financial center Bank of England financed Britains war with France British and Dutch East India Companies Hudson Bay Company –18 th C.-Amsterdam and London are global cities

Global Economy in Historical Context: 1850-WWII MNCs establish colonial operations –Extractive and Primary Industries; Mining, Logging –Agriculture: Plantations and Ranches; Fruit and Tea –Oil companies emerge –MNCs import textiles and decimate indigenous industries Industrial Age: –Classical Gold Standard Period: Skeptics argue that this was the only truly globalized era. –Telegraph drastically improves communication

Global Economy in Historical Context: Interwar Years Interwar years: Global Monetary Disorder –Collapse of the Gold Standard –German Hyperinflation –Domestic investments predominate Trade protectionism and cartels dominate remaining international business Soviet Union withdraws from int’l market