Notes in Contemporary World Relevance of this course 1. Studying the outside world is a cure to parochialism or an outlook that is limited to one’s immediate community. 2. It is important to study the world because it can teach you more about yourself. 3. You need to study the world because you will be interacting with it. Lesson 1: What is Globalization? The story of Gio, Latif and the Laksa Gio- a second year international affairs student in a university in Cebu City. Latif- from a Muslim University in Kuala Lumpur. International Model UN competition in Sydney Australiacompetition about international politics. Hawker centers- food park Best malaysian cuisine- nasi lemak and laksa Laksa- a rice noodle soup in a spicy coconut curry sauce. Flat whites- an espresso drink similar to latte. Still connected to other through facebook and instagram. Gio moved to Singapore as an OFW. Orchard Roadsingapore’s main commercial road. Two Premises 1. Globalization is a complex phenomenon that occurs at multiple levels. Globalization Primarily an economic process. 5 Characteristics of Globalization 1. The expansion and intensification of social relations and consciousness across worldtime and across world-space. – Manfred Steger 2. Globalization involves the creation of new social networks and the multiplication of existing connections. 3. Expansion, stretching and acceleration of these networks. 4. Intensification and acceleration of social exchanges and activities 5. Globalization processes do not occur merely at an objective, material level but also involve the subjective plane of human consciousness. Globalism Is a widespread belief among powerful people that the global integration of economic markets is beneficial for everyone. Globality Is a social condition characterized by globalization, political, cultural, environmental interconnectedness, borderless irrelevant. Manifestation- value of individualism and competition existence of economic system of private property. Communal & cooperativesocial relations which is less capitalistic. Hyperglobalists 2. It is an uneven process that affects people differently. Pro-globalist Nationalist and Activist Anti-globalist Kinds of globalization according to Arjun Apparudai 1. Ethnoscape- global movement of people 2. Mediascape- flow of culture 3. Technoscape- circulation of mechanical goods and software 4. Financescape- global circulation of money 5. Ideoscape- political ideas move around Lesson 2: economic The globalization of world Economic globalization The International Monetary Fund (IMF) defines it as a historical process representing the result of human innovation and technological progress. According to the IMF, the value of trade (goods and services) as a percentage of world GDP increased from 42.1 percent in 1980 to 62.1 percent in 2007. Increased trade means that investments are moving all over the world at faster speeds. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the amount of foreign direct investments flowing across the world was US$ 57 billion in 1982. By 2015, that number was $1.76 trillion. International Trading Systems Silk road oldest known international trade route a network of pathways that spanned China to Middle East and Europe. traders used the Silk Road regularly from 130 BCE when the Chinese Han Dynasty opened trade to the West until 1453 BCE when the Ottoman Empire closed it. the Silk Road was international, it was not truly “global” because it had no ocean routes. According to historians Dennis O. Flynn and Arturo Giraldez, “the age of globalization began when “all important populated continents began to exchange products continuously both with each other directly and indirectly via other continents and in value sufficient to generate crucial impacts on all trading partners” 1571- establishment of the galleon trade that connected Manila in the Philippines and Acapulco in Mexico. Mercantilism era countries primarily in Europe, competed with one another to sell more goods as a means to boost their country’s income (called monetary reserves). to defend their products from competitors who sold goods more cheaply,imposed high tariffs, forbade colonies to trade with other nations. also a system of global trade with multiple restrictions. Gold Standard a more open trade system that emerged in 1867. its goal was to create a common system that would allow for more efficient trade. established a common basis for currency prices and a fixed exchange rate system – all based on the value of gold. during World War I, when countries depleted their gold reserves to fund their armies, many were forced to abandon the gold standard. Great depression- caused by the gold standard and was the worst and longest recession ever experienced by the Western world. Economic historian Barry Eichengreen argues that the recovery of the US really began when having abandoned the gold standard. At the height of World War II, other major industrialized countries followed suit. Fiat currencies- currencies whose value is determined by their cost relative to other currencies. The Bretton Woods System After the two world wars, world leaders sought to create a global economic system that would ensure a longerlasting global peace. The Bretton woods sytem was inaugurated in 1944 to prevent the catastrophes of the early decades of the century from reoccurring and affecting international ties. It was largely influenced by the ideas of British economist John Maynard Keynes who believed that economic crises occur not when a country does not have enough money, but when money is not being spent and not moving. Global Keynesianism- a system of the active role of governments in managing spending served as the anchor. Two financial institutions International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD or world bank) – too be responsible for funding postwar reconstruction projects. International Monetary Fund (IMF)- which was to be the global lender of last resort to prevent individual countries from spiraling into credit crises. After Bretton Woods, various countries also committed themselves to further global economic integration through the General Agreement on Tarrifs and Trade (GATT) in 1947. Its main purpose was to reduce tariffs and other hindrances to free trade. Neoliberalism and Its Discontents The high point of global Keynesianism came in the mid-1940s to the early 1970s. Governments poured money into their economies, allowing people to purchase more goods and increase demand for these products. As demand increased, so did the prices of these goods. The theory went that, as prices increased, companies would earn more, and would have more money to hire workers. Keynesian Economists believed that all this was a necessary trade-off for economic development. In early 1970s, the prices of oil rose sharply as a result of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) imposition of an embargo in reponse of the decision of US and other countries to resupply the Israeli military. Oil Embargo- affected the Western economies that were reliant on oil. The stock markets crashed in 1973-1974 after US stopped linking the dollar to gold, effectively ending the Bretton Woods system. Stagflation- a phenomenon in which a decline in economic growth and employment (stagnation) takes place alongside a sharp increase in prices (inflation). Economists such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedmen argued that government intervention in economies distort the proper functioning of the market. Neoliberalism- a new form of economic thinking and became the codified strategy of US treasury department, world bank and IMF. World Trade Organization (WTO)- a new organization founded in 1995 to continue the tariff reduction under the GATT. Washington Consensusdominated global economic policies, it advocates pushed for minimal government spending to reduce government debt. US Pres. Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher justified their reduction in government spending by comparing national economies to households. Thatcher, promoted an image of her mother. Who reined in overspending to reduce the national debt. The problem with this analogy is that governments are not households. Post-communist Russia- the IMF assumed that such a move would free industries from corrupt bureaucrats. This practice has entrenched an oligarchy that still dominates the Russian economy to this very day. Lesson 3: A History of Global Politics: Creating an International Order International Relations -scholars of politics study this, it is about political, military, and other diplomatic engagements between two or more countries. Internationalization -a phenomenon -deepening of interactions between states - does not equal globalization, but a major part of globalization. United Nations -most prominent example of this organization -meeting ground of presidents Globalization -encompasses a multitude of connections and interactions that cannot be reduced to the ties between governments. The Attributes of Today’s Global System Four key attributes of world politics 1. There are countries or states that are independent and govern themselves. 2. These countries interact with each other through diplomacy. 3. There are international organizations, like the United Nations (UN), that facilitate these interactions. 4. Beyond simply facilitating meetings between states, international organizations also take on loves of their own. Nation-State Forms of government -is a relatively modern phenomenon in human history, and people did not always organize themselves as countries. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The two interchangeable terms of nation – state Monorchial Republican Dictatorial Democratic Presidential 4. Sovereignty “Not all states are nations and not all nations are states” Examples -one of the fundamental principles of modern state politics. Internal Sovereignty 1. The nation of Scotland has its own flag and national culture but still belongs to a state called United Kingdom. 2. Many believe that Bangsomoro is a separate nation withing Philippines but the authority still recognizes it as a Philippine State. -no one can operate in a given national territory by ignoring the state. External Sovereignty -a state’s policies and procedures are independent of the interventions of State other states. -refers to a country and its government. Four attributes of State 1. Citizen Bases in determining principles Jus Sanguinis Jus Soli Naturalization Smallest State- Singapore & Vatican Largest State-China & Russia 2. Territory 3. Government -agency in which the will of the people are established, limited &defined. 3 structures of government 1. Executive 2. Judiciary 3. Legistative Nation - “imagined community” It is limited because it does not go beyond a given “official boundary” The Interstate System -the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, France, Sweden, and the Dutch Republic designed a system that would avert wars in the future. Treaty of Westphalia -a set of agreements signed in 1648 to end the Thirty Years War between the major continental powers of Europe. Napoleon Bonaparte -believed in spreading the principles of the French Revolution (liberty, equality and fraternity) Napolenic Wars -1803-1815 Napoleonic Code -forbade birth privileges, encouraged freedom or religion and promoted meritocracy in government service. Concert of Europe - - Woodrow Wilson - -alliance of “great powers” -sought to restore the world of monarchical, hereditary and religious privileges of the time before the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Internationalism - - - 1. Liberal 2. Socialist Immanuel Kant - first major thinker of liberal internationalism - “establish a continuously growing state consisting of various nations which will ultimately include the nations of the world. - he imagine a form of global government. Influenced by Mazzini US president 20th century’s most prominent internationalist he forwarded the principle of selfdetermination (the belief that the world’s nations had a right to a free and sovereign government. Became the most notable advocate for the creation of the League of Nations. Karl Marx -one window into the broader phenomenon of globalization. Two categories an advocate of the unification of the various Italian-speaking mini-states and a major critic of the Metternich system. Believed in Republican Government Also an internationalist but who differed from the former because he did not believe in nationalism. He did not divide the world into countries, but into classes. Capitalist Class -owners Proletariat Class -workers Friedrich Engels - Co-author of Marx Believed that in a socialist revoltution seeking to overthrow the state and alter the economy. The Socialist International Jeremy Bentham - coined the word “international” he believed that objective global legistators should aim to propose legistation that would create “the greatest happiness of all nations taken together”. Giuseppe Mazzini - first thinker to reconcile nationalism with liberal nationalism Was a union of European socialist and labor parties established on Paris in 1889. The Communist International - Served as the central body for directing Communist parties all over the world. Lesson 4: The United Nations and Contemporary Global Governance Regularities in the general behaviour of states 1. They more or less follow global navigation routes and, more often than not, respect each other’s territorial boundaries. 2. To adhere to certain global norms means that there is a semblance of world order. Global Governance -refers to the various intersecting processes that create this order. Sources of global governance 1. States signs treaties and form organizations, in the process legistating public international law. 2. Powerful transnational corporations can likewise have tremendous effects on global labor laws, environmental legistation and trade policy. International Organization refer to international intergovernmental organizations or groups that are primarily made up of member-states. One major fallacy about international organizations is that they are merely amalgations of various state interest. IOs Power of Classification 1. They create powerful global standards. 2. IOs have the power to fix meanings. 3. IOs have the power to diffuse norms. United Nations -most prominent intergovernmental organization today. Five Active Organs of UN 1. General Assembly Main deliberative policymaking and representative organ Annually, the General Assembly elect a GA President to serve one-year term of office. 193 members Filipino Diplomat Carlos P. Romulo was elected GA president. 2. Security Council Most powerful 15 members Two year term of office Permanent 5(P5) – China, France, Russia, UK and US The SC takes the lead in determining the existence of threat to the peace or an act or aggression. 3. Economic and Social Council the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue, and recommendations on social and environmental issues, as well as the implementation of internationally agreed development goals, 54 members Three years term of office 4. International Court of Justice to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies. 5. Secretariat Secretary-General and tens of thousands of international UN staff members who carry out the day-to day work of the UN as mandated by the GA. It is the bureaucracy of the UN Members of the secretariat serve in their capacity as UN employees and not a state representatives. Challenges of the United Nations Chief among these are the limits placed upon its various organs and programs by the need to respect state sovereignty. The biggest challenge of UN is related to the issues of security. WORLD OF REGIONS Regionalization Societal integration and often indirected process of social and economic integration. End result of regionalism Regionalism Emergent, socially constituted phenomenon. Set of conscious activities Facets of regionalism - identities, ethics, religion, ecological sustainability and health Regions are a group of countries located in the same geographically specified area. China –offers its cheap and huge workforce to attract foreign businesses. Singapore and Switzerland- compensate for their lack of resources by turning themselves into financial and banking hubs. Countries form regional associations for several reasons: 1. For military defense North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)- most widely known defense grouping -formed during the cold war when several Western European countries plus the United States agreed to protect Europe against the threat of the Soviet Union Warsaw Pact- Soviet Union’s regional Alliance, consisting of Eastern European countries. 2. To pool their resources Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)- was established in 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela to regulate the production and sale of oil. Other members of OPEC include Quatar, UAE, Algeria and Congo. 3. To protect their independence from the pressures of superpower politics. Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)created by the presidents of Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia and Yugoslavia in 1961. -to pursue world peace and equality. -had 120 member countries. 4. Economic crisis compels countries to come together The Thai economy collapsed in 1996, a rapid withdrawal of foreign investments bankrupted the economy. This crisis began to spread to other Asian Countries. ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nation) along with China, Japan and South Korea agreed to establish an emergency fund to anticipate a crisis that the Asian economies stabilized. Non-state Regionalism 5 periods of the evolution of media and tiny associations that focuses on a single issue. People who share the same values, norms, institutions and system that exist outside of the traditional North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Rainforest Foundation protects indigenous rainforest. people and globalization 1. Oral Communication Language- avenue of people who cooperate -allowed for the sharing of information. -important tool as human being explored the world experience different cultures. 2. Script Papyrus it allowed humans to communicate over longer space & much longer time allowed for the written and permanent codification of economic, cultural & political practices. the Contemporary Challenges to Regionalism 1. Resurgence of militant nationalism and populism. Brexit- withdrawal of UK to European Union 2. The extent to which member countries should sacrifice their sovereignty for the sake of regional stability. 3. Differing visions of what regionalism should be for. 3. Printing Press information revolution transferred social institutions according to Elizabeth Einstein (1979) the influences of printing press It changed the nature of knowlwdge Preserved & standardized knowledge Encouraged the challenge of political & religious authority Media and Globalization Globalization set of multiple, uneven & overlapping historical processes including eco, politics & culture, that have combined with the evolution of media, technology to create the conditions under which the globe itself can now be understood as “an imagined community” (global village) relies on media as its main conduit for spread of global culture and ideas. 4. Electronic Media Radio- global medium in reaching regions TV- most persuasive & powerful mass medium Combi- visual & aural power 5. Digital Media rely on digital code Media a means of conveying something, such as channel of communication plural of medium Technologies of mass communication Herbert Schiller argued that not only was the world being Americanized, but that this process also led to the spread of “American” capitalist values like consumerism John Tomlinson 1. Print Media Books, magazines and newspapers 2. Broadcast Media Radio, film and television 3. Digital Media Internet and mobile mass communication Marshall McLuhan the medium is the message. he used his analysis of technology to examine the impact of electronic media. he declared that the television was turning the world into a “global village” Television shapes the social behaviour of users and reorient family behaviour Papyrus started in Egypt. Cellphones expand people’s senses The Global Village and Cultural Imperialism Cultural Imperialism media globalization coupled with American hegemony would create a form of this. american values and culture would overwhelm all others cultural globalization is simply a euphemism for “western cultural imperialism” since it promotes “homogenized, westernized, consumer culture” Critiques of Cultural Imperialism Ien Ang studied the ways in which different viewers in the Netherlands experienced watching the American soap opera “Dallas” Elihu Katz and Tamar Liebes they decided to push Ang’s analysis. they argued that texts are received differently by varied interpretative communites. Russians were suspicious of the show’s content Americans believed that it was primarily about the lives of the rich. Japanese Brands Hello Kitty, Mario Brothers and Pokemon Sushi globalized Asian Cuisine Jollibee number one choice for fast food in Brunei Social Media and the creation of Cyber Ghettoes Women’s march against Donald Trump began with a tweet from a Hawaii lawyer and became a global movement. Splinternet various bubbles people place themselves in when they are online Cyberbalkanization the phenomenon Vladimir Putin a Russian dictator who hired armies of social media to manipulate public opinion through intimidation and the spreading of fake news Trolls paid users who harass political opponents Global online propaganda will be the biggest threat to face as the globalization of media deepens Global City Globalization is spatial because: 1. It occurs in physical spaces 2. What makes it move is the fact that it is based in places Saskia Sassen Her criteria for what constitutes a global city were primarily economic. She initially identified three global cities: New York, London, and Tokyo all of which are hubs of global finance and capitalism. Multiple attributes of global city 1. Economic power 2. To measure the economic competitiveness of a city The Economist Intelligence Unit criteria 1. Market size 2. Purchasing power of citizens 3. Size of the middle class 4. Potential for growth 3. Global cities are also centers of authority 4. The cities that house major international organizations may also be considered centers of political influence 5. Global Cities are center of higher learning and culture The challenges of global cities 1. Cities can be sustainable because of their density 2. The major terror attacks of recent years have also targeted cities.
