Globalization

- Fact of life, an everyday experience

- Operates at multiple, intersecting levels
- Our world is no longer isolated; we are participants in
global activities
- world organizations taking a global focus
- large corporations having global expansion
- Lifestyle and culture
Globalization - a contested concept that refers to
sometimes contradictory social processes
• Something is happening but it is not affecting
everyone in the same way/uneven process that affect
people differently
• There may be those who experienced global flows in a
privileged way but for others, it may not be as exciting
and edifying
- mail to order brides to human trafficking
- eviction of poor people from lands in favor of
foreign investments
Globalization is happening:

• We are slowly leaving behind the condition of

modernity that gradually unfolded from the 16th
century onwards
• Transition to a new globality (postmodern)
• What lies beyond (something we haven’t seen or
reached)

It corresponds to the idea of change, a transformation of

modern conditions is something inevitable
It corresponds to the idea of change, a transformation of
modern conditions is something inevitable:

• An on-going process (a shifting of perceptions)

• Movement towards greater interdependence and
integration

* Globalization is seen as a kind of contested concept; no

consensus as to what kinds of social processes
constitutes its essence.
Globalization: A Working Definition
Steger – “Expansion and intensification of social relations
and consciousness across world time and world space.”
- Expansion - refers to both creation of new networks
and multiplication of existing ones that cut across
different dimensions
- Intensification – the expansion, stretching and
acceleration of these networks
- Time and space refers to how people see the idea of
globalization not just from an objective, material level
but involves the subjective plane of human
consciousness.
Globalization according to Stoner (1985) and Abelos
(2006) consists of three interrelated factors – proximity,
location and attitude that confront the contemporary
society:
• Proximity refers to the closer ties which renders miles
insignificant
• Location refers to territories and boundaries, to which
the world now operates in what is now known as
borderless-world
• Attitude refers to the behavior, combining curiosity
about the world outside one’s borders with the
willingness to develop the capabilities of participation
- “Nothing is overseas anymore”
Measuring Globalization

• Economic globalization measures long distance flow

of goods, capital and services as well as information
and perception that accompany market exchanges
• Social globalization measures the spread of ideas,
information, images and people
• Political globalization measures the diffusion of
government policies in terms of number
embassies/consulates in a country, membership in
international organization
Globalization from the Ground Up

The problem with the idea of globalization is that it is

confusing, almost fleeting because of the intersecting
processes.

The belief is that if you talk of the concept as a whole, the

process becomes complicated. Collective mistake lies in
their dogmatic attempts to reduce such a complex
phenomenon as globalization to a single domain that
corresponds to their own expertise. Therefore, scholars
started discussing “multiple globalizations” instead of
just one process.
Globalization is an uneven process, meaning that people
living in various parts of the world are affected very
differently by this gigantic transformation of social
structures and cultural zones

- Multi-dimensionality as an attribute of globalization

- “Parable of the Elephant”
According to Arjun Appadurai, an anthropologist,
different globalization occur on multiple and intersecting
dimensions of integration known as “scapes”:

• Ethnoscapes refers to the global movement of people

• Technoscape refers to the circulation of mechanical
goods and software
• Mediascape refers to the flow of culture
• Finanscape denotes global circulation of money
• Ideoscape is the realm where political ideas move
around
Appadurai’s argument is simple: there are multiple
globalizations. Even if one does not agree that it can be
divided into different “scapes”, it can’t be denied that
globalization is something that needs to be viewed from
different lenses.

Depending on what is being globalized, a different

dynamic may emerge. So while it is important to ask
“What is globalization?”, it is also important to ask “What
is being globalized?” Depending on what is being
globalized, the vista and conclusions may change.