Test 3 Flashcards
Globalization
• “…a set of processes that are widening, deepening, and accelerating the interconnectedness among societies.” (pg. 244) • Types of Globalization o Economic o Cultural o Political o Technological
Economic Globalization
o The global integration of trade and finance leading towards the emergence of a single world economy
Cultural Globalization
o Diffusion and integration of cultures worldwide, including ideas, literature, movies, music, fashion, food, etc
• Political Globalization
o Creation of new international institutions for coordinating decision making.
o Interdependence
A condition in which the actions and events in one part of the world effect people elsewhere
• Technological Globalization
o New technologies eliminate traditional barrier between countries and the people within them.
• Benefits of Globalization
o Promotes economic growth through free trade and trade specialization.
o Economic growth necessary to reduce poverty in developing countries.
o May contribute to peace by providing the point of view that all humans share a common fate.
• Negatives of Globalization
o Benefits of globalization are uneven, increasing inequality between the wealthy and poor.
o Encourages the exploitation of workers in developing countries.
o Exploitation of the environment
o Loss of jobs in the Global North
o Threatens local traditions and culture
• Negatives/Positives
o Reduces the ability of states to exercise control over their territory and people
International Political Economy (IPE)
• The study of the interaction between politics and economics
• Mercantilism
o Objective: increase the relative wealth and power of the state by creating a balance of payment surplus (more coming in than going out), realism
o Method: tariffs and nontariff barriers (i.e. protectionism)
• Commercial Liberalism
o Objective: maximize economic gains throughout the entire economic systems (i.e. market efficiency), Adam Smith
o Method: free markets and removal of barriers to trade (laissez faire)
• Keynesianism (John Maynard Keynes)
o Objective: market efficiency
o Method: government intervention is needed to correct market inefficiencies, particularly during economic crisis.
Bretton Woods (1994)
- World Bank (IGO)
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- Dollar Convertibility
• World Bank (IGO)
o Provides development loans to Global South countries
o Helps to finance large capital projects in support of economic development
o President of World Bank has always been U.S. citizen (Jim Yong Kim)
o Board of Governors sets the overall policy of the World Bank
o Voting rights based on each state’s financial contributions
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)
o Provides short term loans to member states with financial problems.
o Money paid into the IMF by member states; amount based on each state’s economic wealth.
o Determines how much each state can borrow and its voting rights.
o IMF currency used only for financial transactions between members called Special Drawing Rights
o Value of SDR’s tied to the Euro, Dollar, Yen, and British Pound Sterling.
o Managing Director of the IMF has always been European, Christine Lagarde
o Board of Governors sets overall policy of IMF.
Voting rights based on each state’s quota.
• Dollar Convertibility
o After WWII, the U.S. dollar emerged as the world’s global currency
o U.S. dollar tied to gold at a fixed exchange rate.
o All other currency values tied to the U.S. dollar at relatively fixed rates and regulated by the IMF.
o End of Dollar Convertibility
President Richard Nixon ended dollar convertibility in 1971.
o Floating Exchange Rate
Currency values set by the market
China only country with fixed exchange rate tied to the U.S. dollar
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Liberalism)
• Objective: promote global trade by reducing tariffs
• Most Favored Nation
o “…tariff preferences granted to one state must be granted to all others exporting the same product.”
• GATT Weaknesses
o Several types of goods exempted from GATT rules
E.g. textiles/clothing, agricultural products
o Did not include services
E.g. banking, insurance, delivery, telecom munitions, tourism
o Did not address intellectual property
E.g. patents, copyrights, trademarks
o Difficulties reaching agreements on nontariff barriers
o Lacked enforcement mechanism
Marrakesh Agreem
• Created the World trade Organization (WTO)
• Expanded trade rules to cover
o Textiles/clothing
o Services
o Intellectual Property
o Nontariff barriers
• Created new institutions for dispute settlement and enforcement of WTO rules
Doha Round
• Expanded to include agriculture
Group of 20 (G-20)
- Meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from 19 countries, plus the EU.
- Purpose: coordinate international economic policy
- G-20 agreements are voluntary
- Has no permanent organizational structure. Chair rotates between member states (currently Russia)
Global Commons
• Resources that exist outside of state boundaries or are shared by several states
o E.g. atmosphere, outer space, oceans
Population Growth
- 86% of population growth in Global South
* Greatest population growth in sub-Saharan Africa
• Causes of Population Growth in Global South
o Lack of access to healthcare, including contraceptives
o Lack of empowerment for women, including access to education
o More people living in rural areas
o Neo-Malthusians
Uncontrolled growth in population, consumption, and population are a threat to humankind.
Government regulation needed to prevent this
o Cornucopians
Rejects idea that there are limits to growth. Ecological imbalances can be corrected through technological advances and the free market
Global Climate Change
• Greenhouse gases
o Carbon Dioxide
o Methane
• China is #1 producer of greenhouse gases
• Effects of Global Climate Change
o Sea level rise o Higher rates of species extinction o Spread of pests and disease o Drought and desertification o Stronger and more frequent storms
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
• Created by the U.N. in 1988 to access the scientific knowledge on climate change
• Rio Earth Summit 1992
o United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), world’s first treaty on climate change
o Global North countries acknowledged their responsibility for climate change
o Made a non-binding¬ pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
o Created an institutional process for future negotiations on climate change
• Kyoto Protocol (1997)
o Participating Global North countries agreed to binding reductions in their greenhouse gas emissions to be achieved by the end of 2012
o U.S. did not participate
o 2001, President Bush announced that the U.S. would not ratify the Kyoto Protocol
• Copenhagen Accord (2009)
o Established the goal of limiting global temperature rise to no more than 3.60F
o Participating countries asked to make voluntary pledges for curbing greenhouse gas emissions
o Promised additional financial aid to developing countries
• Durban Platform (2011)
o Extends the Kyoto Protocol with additional binding reductions for the EU.
o Talks on a new deal to begin in 2012 and end by 2015
o New deal will require binding reductions for all countries and go into effect in 2020.
• Montreal Protocol (1989)
o International agreement eliminating the production and use of ozone-depleting substances
Sustainable Development
o “…development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” – Brundtland Commission
o Social, economic, and environmental aspects
o Agenda 21
Voluntary action plan to help states apply the principles of sustainable development
Reduce Poverty (Economic)
• Promote access to clean water, food, shelter, healthcare, and education
Promote Social Equality
• Promote gender equality
• Protect workers’ rights
• Prevent the exploitation of children
Protect the Environment
• Develop renewable sources of energy
• Protect biodiversity
• Reduce deforestation and desertification
Millennium Development Goals
o Reduce the rate of biodiversity loss (progress)
o Reduce by half the number of people without access to safe drinking water (complete) and basic sanitation (progress)
o Improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers (complete)
o Rio+20 Earth Summit
o Adopted nonbinding declaration
o UN Open Working Group created to develop a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
High-level Political Forum
Climate Change
