Globalization Old and
New
PS 314, Spring 2006
January 17th
Globalization and the Return of
History
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Rothschild reminds us that many previous
moments in history have been accompanied by
reflections about the nature of relations
between nations and states
According to her, there are some common
themes in these episodes:
1.
2.
3.
They have all come more or less abruptly to an end
They have often been accompanied by a profound
intellectual debate (relationship between science and
society, economics and politics, identity and culture,
etc.).
They implied rethinking the political order
The big debate that emerges from the
Enlightenment is, how shall different ‘peoples’
relate to each other?
Keohane and Nye
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Who are they?
• Robert Keohane: one of the most prominent
theorists of international relations since WWII.
Now teaches at Princeton University. Is
identified with the development of the concept
of neoliberalism in international relations.
• Joseph Nye: Former Dean of the Kennedy
School at Harvard University, served as Deputy
Under Secretary in the Carter Administration
(1977 to 1979) and Assistant Secretary of
Defense under Clinton (1994 to 1995). Also
chaired the National Intelligence Council from
1993 to 1994.
The Definitional Question
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Keohane and Nye have earlier popularized
the concept of interdependence, which
they define as “situations characterized by
reciprocal effects among countries or
among actors in different countries”
“Globalization”, in their view, is the
increase of globalism (and logically, the
opposite of “deglobalization”)
Globalism is “a state of the world involving
networks of interdependence at
multicontinental distances”
The Relationship Between
Interdependence and Globalism

Globalism (the state of being) and
globalization (the increase of globalism)
are related to interdependence in two
ways:
1. Globalism is more extensive, and involves
networks of reciprocal relations (thus
excluding bilateralism)
2. Globalism takes place of a greater scale, and
is multi-continental in character (thus
distinguishing it from regionalism, which we
will discuss later in the semester)
The Usefulness of the Definition
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As far as Keohane and Nye are concerned, one
of the utilities of the definition is that it helps us
distinguish previous periods and phenomena
Secondly, it helps us understand that globalism
(globalization) is not universalism (a confusion
sometimes made in the literature)
Thirdly, globalization can take many forms and
is not simply economic in nature. They identify:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Economic globalization
Military globalization
Environmental globalization
Social and cultural globlization
Note that they say nothing about political
globalization. Why?
Applying the Definition
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Keohane and Nye add the notion of
the depth (thinness or thickness) of
globalization.
Putting it all together, they suggest
that globalism is nothing new at all.
So, for example, they argue that the
establishment of the great Silk Road
was a good example of thin
globalization
Characterizing Contemporary
Globalization
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The thickness of globalization is increasing,
according to Keohane and Nye (take the example
of the Internet).
The principle of interconnectedness implies
‘spillover effects’, from one domain to another.
Thus, an economic phenomenon may have social
and political consequences.
The thickness of modern globalization make it
very hard to understand as a system.
Thus, one of the distinguishing features is that it
is accompanied by demands for changes in
governance.
Complex Interdependence
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The thickness of contemporary
globalization is accompanied by a change
in institutional velocity (that is, the
capacity of institutions and networks to
act and respond).
This has given rise to what Keohane and
Nye want to label complex
interdependence (a term they used in the
1970’s). Complex interdependence
implies:
1. Multiple actors and channels
2. Multiple issues
3. The irrelevance of the unilateral threat or use
of force among states linked by CI
CI and Globalization
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CI is a state, according to them, of high
social and economic globalism and low
military globalism (although they never
really spell out the relationship between
the two. What causes what?).
The thickness of contemporary
globalization affords more nations access
to CI
This does not mean that states are
irrelevant, nor does it mean that globalism
cannot be reversed. But it is both
qualitatively and quantitatively distinct
from other periods in history.