GlobalizationLecture 2 - Dimensions: Globalization Lecture 2 - Dimensions What is it? Global capitalist economy & diminishing political power of nation-state governments (Marxists & Right-wingers) Social relations- “stretching” (Giddens) Culture – a sense of “global consciousness” (Robertson)


Slide2: 1) Globalization of Politics - The end of the nation-state? 2) Globalization of Social Relations - The stretching of social relations 3) Globalization of Culture - Homogenization: Cultural imperialism - Culture clashes - Heterogenization


Globalization of Politics: Globalization of Politics Nation-state has sovereign power: - Treaty of Westphalia (1648) - Draws up defined borders - Each state controls affairs in its own territory. SOVEREIGNTY - Other states cannot interfere in a state’s business Globalization undermines sovereignty of states i.e. undercuts power of a state to control things in its territory Martin Albrow: the nation-state is rapidly losing power


Slide4: Nation-state IS losing power Economically: 1) power of TNCS 2) forces of world market Politically: 1) International bodies and law e.g. United Nations, European Union 2) Global protest movements e.g. Greens Culturally: 1) Cultural influences from all over world 2) Trans-national media – public opinion


Slide5: Nation-state IS NOT losing power Hirst & Thompson: - TNCs do not have total control of national economies - States still have primary control over taxes & welfare spending - International bodies like UN made up of, and dependent on, nation-states - States developing increasing control of borders and migration e.g. passports


Globalization of Social Relations: Globalization of Social Relations Giddens: “the disembedding of social relations” - social relations transformed from purely local or national to more “global” - communications technologies; travel technologies - dispersal of populations across globe: migrations and diasporas


Slide7: Ulrich Beck: Trans-national social connections - public life: trans-national business relationships - private life: relatives & friends in different countries; inter-marriage between national groups, etc. Multiple, non-national affiliations and identities Cosmopolitanism: a person’s identity is decoupled from the nation-state


Undermining the idea of “Society”: Undermining the idea of “Society” John Urry, Ulrich Beck, Roland Robertson 1) Cannot use the idea of “society” any more 2) Invented in later 19th century: Durkheim 3) Society = bounded unit; a thing Society = nation-state e.g. “British society”, “German society”, etc 4) Reflects out-dated social conditions 5) Need new ideas to reflect global conditions


Undermining the idea of “Society”: Undermining the idea of “Society” Drop idea of “society” Use other ideas from classical sociology Max Weber: Sociality (social relations) Georg Simmel: Social networks (Norbert Elias: social chains) “Global networks” – facilitated through electronic communications networks


Undermining the idea of “Society”: Undermining the idea of “Society” Ulrich Beck: Cosmopolitan sociology 1) The main focus is not “society” but the “whole world” 2) Examine multiple, intersecting world-spanning processes 3) Avoid West-centric outlooks John Urry: Sociology Beyond Societies 1) Global flows 2) Social processes like liquids 3) Liquids pouring rapidly across the world Flows unpredictable and uncontrollable 4) Unconstrained cross-border mobility of people and things


Slide11: Zygmunt Bauman: Free & chosen mobility for wealthy - transnational business-people - global tourism Forced mobility for poor: - migrant workers, refugees - ever more controls on mobility of poor Information mobility: world divides into “information rich” and “information poor”


Globalization of Culture: Globalization of Culture Emergence of a “global culture”? What might this look like? Positive: whole world shares same ideas and values? World Cup, Olympic Games Negative: local cultures destroyed? Cultural homogenization? Cultural heterogenization?


Cultural Imperialism: Cultural Imperialism Westernisation / Americanisation of the world Domination of American consumer brands: McDonalds, Nike, Coca-Cola, Gap (“McWorld” - Benjamin Barber) Global cultural homogenisation Same consumer goods everywhere Same ways of thinking everywhere This is bad (left-wing critics e.g. Noam Chomsky) This is good (right-wing critics e.g. Francis Fukuyama)


Cultural Imperialism: Cultural Imperialism Dominance of American mass media Oligopoly of big media companies: - Disney, Warner, Sony Imbalance of cultural flows: from ‘core’ to ‘periphery’, not vice versa


Culture Clashes: Culture Clashes Benjamin Barber – Jihad vs. McWorld - Local identities, nationalisms, religious traditions - Develop in opposition to McWorld - McWorld creates Jihad Samuel Huntington – Clash of Civilizations - European-Christian, Russian-Christian, Arabic-Muslim, Chinese, etc. - All in conflict: symbolically & materially


Cultural heterogenization: Cultural heterogenization Roland Robertson 1) People in local cultures reinterpret global culture products in light of their own values & interests 2) Global culture is always limited by local cultures 3) Mixtures of global and local cultures: - process of glocalization - local becomes global; global becomes local 4) Perceived threats to local identity: - strong assertion of local identity Globalization reinforces local cultures Globalization produces new “local” cultures


Hybridization & Creolization: Hybridization & Creolization Anthropologists: Ulf Hannerz 1) No culture is ever ‘pure’ - Always a mixture of influences 2) Previously (relatively) separate cultures come into contact with each other 3) Globalization = Complex mixtures of cultures - ‘creole cultures’, ‘hybrids’


Slide18: Globalization of religion: - other options than the “local” religion - religious syncretism: mixing and matching New Age religions: bits of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Celtic paganism & witchcraft, etc. Globalization of food: - “fusion cuisine” e.g. French-Japanese, Anglo-Indian Globalization of music: - “World music” - Buddhist-techno, Spanish rap, Hungarian rock Relativization of one’s own cultural traditions


Limits of Hybridization Ideas: Limits of Hybridization Ideas 1) Local cultures commercialised: Sold to Westerners by media and big business; fashion trends 2) Enforced hybridization - Western culture imposed on non-West - Westerners choose non-Western cultures 3) Most people still primarily enmeshed in local culture? Global culture has superficial effects?


Points to Consider: Points to Consider Economic Globalization: spread of global capitalism. Effects? Political Globalization: decline of nation-state’s power. True? Social Globalization: stretching of social relations across world. Everyone, equally? Cultural Globalization: homogenization, culture clashes, heterogenization. Which? Which is most important? How does each of these effect the others?