Globalisation & Agencies of Development Flashcards
How do sociologists define Globalisation, and what types are there?
- Economic Globalisation: capitalist free markets operate without national borders
- Political Globalisation: global TNCs, charities & multi-state organisations now make political decisions for many countries
- Cultural Globalisation: global media & communications, travel & tourism and world sport mean we’re all part of a world community
What is Economic Globalisation?
- There’s a New International Division of Labour (NIDL) (Frobel et al., 1980)
- Growth of TNCs, improved transport, and better communication make global trade possible
What is some evidence of economic globalisation?
- Spread of capitalist free market
- Growth and spread of TNCs
- McDonaldisation (Ritzer, 2000)
- Global financial markets
McDonaldization (Ritzer, 2000)
- Efficiency - McDonalds feeds people fast
- Calculability - Quantity over Quality
- Predictability - Everything is the same at all stores
- Control - People often replaced with machines
What is Political Globalisation?
Global decision-making - states now act together to take decisions and work together to form IGOs
What is some evidence of political globalisation?
- European Union (EU)
- United Nations (UN)
- North-Atlantic Treaty Oranisation (NATO)
NGOs also often operate globally: - Greenpeace
- Red Cross
- Médecins Sans Frontiéres (MSF)
- Amnesty International
What is Cultural Globalisation?
People in countries around the world are exposed to the same media, culture, and traditions (often American), so culture is more similar between countries than it once was
What is some evidence of cultural globalisation?
- Worldwide communication & information systems
- Global consumerism
- Cosmopolital lifestyles
- World sport
- International tourism
What do Neoliberal (consensus) theorists think about globalisation?
Known as ‘positive globalists’ - they believe it’s a good thing because it extends free market, liberal democracy and ‘trickle down’ equality
Why do Neoliberal (consensus) theorists have these beliefs about globalisation?
- Believe the ‘new world order’, where capitalism replaces other religious and philosophical movements, represents desireable progress
- Support cultural globalisation
What do Radical (conflict) theorists think about globalisation?
- Known as ‘negative globalists’; highlight issues in dependency theory, Neo-Marxism, World-Systems theory and neo-colonialism as some pitfalls of globalisation
Why do Radical (conflict) theorists have these beliefs about globalisation?
- Believe globalisation serves to increase inequality by making businesses more profitable through exploitative practices - structural violence where money is used to subjugate people
- Cultural imperialism leads to cultural homogenisation
- TNCs and IGOs are the new-empire builders. Business leaders are the new warlords. This reflects traditional and Marxist thought
What do Transformationalist (postmodernist) theorists think about globalisation?
- Aren’t certain what the outcome of globalisation will be. A group of postmodernist sociologists who want to take an objective stance on the issue
What evidence do Transformationalists give for this view?
Cohen & Kennedy (2012)
* Globalisation may naturally slow or reverse
* Might be able to reject negatives of globalisation
* Hybridization of culture may happen, not Homogenisation
* Developing World culture increasingly popular in the West (Cultural imperialism not fully correct)
* Countries have always been unequal
How did globalisation progress 1970-2000?
- Economic - TNCs now only curbed by IGOs, more powerful than most states (Hirst & Thompson, 1999)
- Political - Neolib countries willing to work with any supporters (eg. Mugabe), countermovements pass through time (eg. jihadism), increase in democracy
