Human - Global systems and governance Flashcards
Globalisation
What is it?
Definition:
Globalisation: is the process by which people and places are becoming increasingly interconnected, integrated and interdependent through various flows of capital, products, people, information and services.
Globalisation
What is it?
The shrinking world:
Time-space compression.
Travel and communication times have decreased thanks to the internet.
The expansion of English, cheap travel and shipping, etc have all made us more interdependent.
Globalisation
Dimensions of globalisation (not in spec):
Flows of:
- Capital: through global stock markets, international loans, debt relief and aid, FDI, private citizens and remittances.
- Products: through manufactured goods stimulated by low production costs, less regulation and cheap Labour in LICs/MICs being shipped to HIC customers.
- Labour: through 250million international migrants.
- People: global tourism is 1 billion people a year, and is on the rise.
- Services: through tourists and foreign workers, finance services and online media or retailing.
- Information: through the internet and time-space compression and fast global comms.
It creates interdependence as places are more interconnected due to the constant and rapid flows of capital, products, resources, services, info and labour between them, meaning for nations it increases competition and reliance with each other.
Globalisation
Factors of facilitating globalisation:
(Ranked in order of importance):
1. Transport/comms systems:
Increases flows of people (aircraft, tourism, shrinking world)
Increases flows of products (containerisation, more shipping routes, easier logistics internationally).
Globalisation
Factors of facilitating globalisation:
(Ranked in order of importance):
1. Transport/comms systems:
Increases flows of people (aircraft, tourism, shrinking world)
Increases flows of products (containerisation, more shipping routes, easier logistics internationally).
Fibre optic cables allow the fastest comms (between people or companies)
Increases in free comms software (removes barriers to entry for poorer people/countries).
Globalisation
Factors of facilitating globalisation:
- Technology:
The internet and social media (brought NGOs, reduced comms and transport costs and reduced the market size).
Faster communications (satellites and phones)
E-commerce and flows of capital electronically (flows of products and services via the internet).
Has created new systems of how to work, how to trade, etc
Globalisation
Factors of facilitating globalisation:
- Role of TNCs (including management and information systems):
Supply chains are more global, minimising costs by putting different aspects of their production line in different countries
Economies of scale can be used to lower prices (production lines, specialised equipment).
They can outsource their manufacturing to an LIC with less regulation and cheaper labour to save costs (rise of China)
Basing their HQs/factories in places, their global power, their spatial networks, FDI and international trade.
Zero-hour contracts from big companies means they only pay employees when they work, not a monthly payment, they TNC saves money (although it is unethical).
Globalisation
Factors of facilitating globalisation:
- Role of intergovernmental organisations:
The UN, WHO, WB make the market freer and easier to navigate to facilitate global flows.
Globalisation
Factors of facilitating globalisation:
- Government policy through trade agreements:
Removes the barriers to trade (cheaper, less tariffs)
The EU and trade blocs.
(Bilateral) trade agreements to help facilitate more free trade (NAFTA/EU)
Acts as forums for negotiations
However, there has been more new nationalism and protectionism (Trump/Brexit), to decrease this.
Globalisation
Factors of facilitating globalisation:
- Growth of financial systems:
The growth of the free market (government deregulation) and financial systems has means easier and quicker flows of capital, and international investors (FDI)
EX: rise of the IMF and Wall Street/stock markets generally.
Globalisation
Factors of facilitating globalisation:
- Nations co-operating to prevent security threats:
Interdependency in trade and flows of labour, information, services, products and capital between nations will decrease the likelihood of war (the EU’s main principle).
Countries can co-operate to decrease violence (NATO 1949)
However, it can also make war more likely (when countries fight over resources like oil).
Global systems
Issues with interdependence:
Unequal flows of people:
Benefits:
1. People move from countries with less jobs (LICs) to countries with more jobs (HICs).
2. People also leave countries to escape wars, famines and persecution (refugees).
3. People move for better economic opportunities, and these people normally have money (for visas, transport, living costs), the HIC may also only let in people with skills or education.
4. It is easier for people in HICs to migrate, than LICs (UK citizens have 173 visa free countries, Afghanistan has just 24).
5. Migrants can bring economic growth, as they do jobs natives don’t want to go or can’t do (Nepalese building Qatar stadiums)
6. Many migrants send back remittances and increase economic growth in their home country
Problems:
- Inequalities: Brain drain happens from LICs (reinforces inequalities)
- Conflict: Locals and migrants can clash as migrants work for less money than locals and can displace them in jobs and depress wages.
- Injustice: Migrant workers are sometimes exploited to work in dangerous conditions for little money (Nepalese in Water stadiums dying).
Global systems
Issues with interdependence:
Unequal flows of money:
Benefits:
1. Remittances, foreign aid, FDI, and income from trade. This increases living standards and infrastructure).
EX: Asian nations have developed due to western investment (500 million Chinese out of poverty since 1990), this has led to the ‘global middle class’. The origin countries of TNCs also benefit (USA got $6billion from Apple in 2012) (not just HICs, also Tata Steel from India and Huawei from China)
2. Money is often from an HIC to an LIC, this allows the LIC to develop (exploit natural resources, grow companies, use cheap labour, etc).
3. Money can also come from international organisations (IMF, WB) (EX: Laos dam build by them, getting a $2billion profit a year).
Problems:
1. Inequalities: Foreign aid can cause dependencies.
FDI can force out local businesses for TNCs. that have better systems and more money
There is a big economic divide between the rural and city populations in MICs as the rural parts get no benefit from FDI.
The origin countries are mostly HICs that don’t need the money.
The LICs/MICs are exploited and the HICs get the profit.
Almost no trickle down happens from TNC profits.
The IMF/WB creates inequality with strict rules and bad planning.
2. Conflict: Foreign aid can go to armed groups and fund conflict.
FDI can cause conflict between foreign companies and local people (FDI into farming TNCs can force out normal farmers).
3. Injustice: TNCs may pressure/lobby the LIC/MIC gov to pass laws to make it cheaper to invest there (like less environmental regulations or less enforced working conditions).
Global systems
Issues with interdependence:
Ideas dominated by HICs:
Benefits:
1. These ideas can benefit humanity as a whole (renewable energy, tech, etc).
2. It can draw workers in from LICs to help and then fuel remittences, have better qualities of life, etc.
3. Govs of HICs providing welfare for their citizens and controlling imports to protect industries was removed in favour of Neo-liberalism in the 80s, improving opportunities for LICs to sell to HICs and develop.
4. With Neo-liberalism increasing free trade, and interdependency, there has been less conflict.
Problems:
1. Inequalities: Neo-liberalism started in HICs, but spread globally and concentrates wealth in the hands of a few people.
Also, because of brain drain, HICs will benefit from these ideas, and LICs won’t.
2. Conflict: Govs of LICs/MICs can try to limit free trade to HICs, leading to conflict (OPEC oil embargo of 1973).
3. Injustice: poor working conditions, environmental damage and less pay can be justified by TNCs and govs to ‘develop the nation’.
Global systems
Issues with interdependence:
Technology owned by developed countries:
Benefits:
1. Tech means that progress can be made in the HICs and benefit humanity (like COVID vaccines).
2. It helps the HICs through taxes ($6billion to the USA from Apple in 2012).
This tech can be sold and given to LICs to use (Apple sells $9billion worth of goods to Asia excluding Japan and China).
Problems:
- Inequalities: environmental degradation can be caused (air pollution with China). This fuels inequality as the LIC/MICs are used as factories to create the tech and the HICs benefit from this.
- Inequalities: the HICs access to the best tech perpetuates development. Positive feedback loops of HICs being more developed, while LICs can’t.
- Conflict/injustice: repressive Govs of LICs use military tech sold to them by HICs to stop protests/cause violence in their countries.