1.
Global Crises and the Future of Globalization
2. Thinking About Your Assessments
Professor Peter Arnold
Previous sessions
 Examined the terms modern, post modern as they are
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applied to society
Examined how the discipline of sociology has changed
and how attention has shifted away from grand
explanations towards questions of identity
Explained ‘globalization’ and the different perspectives
on this
Considered the effects of globalization
Looked at ‘welfare’ and ‘welfare issues’
Identified that some ‘welfare issues’ arise in context of
‘globalization’
Learning Objectives
In today’s lecture we shall be exploring globalization and
welfare in more detail by:
 Examining what we mean by a ‘social problem’ and a ‘welfare
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issue’
Examining how global processes influence welfare issues
Highlighting modern day social problems which have specific
global dimensions – drug addiction, human trafficking
Considering whether global society is experiencing global
crises
In the final part of the lecture we will think about your
approach to your Assessments
Key Themes and Thinking Questions
 In what ways is globalization influencing ‘social
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problems’ and ‘welfare issues’?
What are social problems?
How do social problems arise?
What are social policies?
What are global social problems and global welfare
issues?
Does the idea of ‘risk society’ help us understand
today’s world
Socio-Political and Cultural
Perspectives
 From a socio-cultural perspective, identity constructions and identity
conflicts are related to the globalisation process.
 Those theorists who subscribe to the idea of post modernism argue
that collective identities are changing and that our lifestyles and
identities have become more fluid (liquid) than in previous times
 Whereas in the past a person’s identity may have been related to class,
occupational status, or nationality the present age is one in which a
particular aspects of lifestyle may dominate for a while and then give
way to other identity defining attributes – leisure , political activity,
parenting, or many combined
 Theories of representation, boundary-making and the construction of
social and political space in relation to issues of migration,
nationalism, gender, race, ethnicity and religion are attributes which
have been closely examined in the context of globalization
Sociological and Psychological
Theories
 Our interest so far has been in sociological explanations,
particularly those which deal with large scale change at the
societal level. It has been noted, that the modern day world is
one in which difference needs to be understood – heterogeneity,
rather than homogeneity
 It is wrong to believe that the discipline of sociology can explain
everything . Globalisation, migration and multicultural policies,
together with more recent tendencies to define the world in
terms of danger, insecurity and terror, have affected people’s
sense of security.
 Critical social psychology in which explanation of health ,
illness and trauma, education, socialisation are central concerns
are all crucial to our understanding of how the world is changing
and to our understanding of the risks of globalization
What are social problems?
 Problems which have societal consequences
 These problems may have complex causes and opinion
may divide over why social problems occur and how
they are to be addressed
 Usually social problems are problems which require or
receive attention of government via action or policy
 It is incorrect to consider that these problems lack an
economic dimension. Their solutions require resources
and their very existence might place heavy burdens on
state and private finance
Discussion
 In groups of 3 or 4 discuss what you would
include in a list of social problems in Hong
Kong in the present day?
What are social problems?
 Social problems not simply individual / personal
problems
 Social problems are experienced by large numbers
of people
 Social problems not fault of individual – they arise
in a social context – responsibility extends beyond
the individual
 They are perceived as problems as a consequence
of public reaction
Social construction of problems
 Social problems are socially constructed
 They reflect political/ideological values about what is
desirable or undesirable at specific times
 Over time, and from one country to another, what is
regarded as a problem differs
 In some societies some social problems have been
eradicated, for example extreme poverty, or child
labour, but in others they persist
 In the present day some social problems , such as
environmental problems, are of fairly recent concern.
5o years or so ago few people talked of environmental
concerns as social problems
What are social problems?
Defining social problems
 Problems not consistently
recognised as such.... not
necessarily focus of policy at all
times in every setting e.g.
homelessness
 “...policy ‘issues’ or ‘problems’
are defined through a process of
selection and
construction...They are not preexisting givens waiting to be
unearthed or discovered by
policy makers’
Hastings (1998) Journal of Social
Policy, 27.2
Global Problems
What are global social problems?
 George and Page (2004) argue that a ‘global’ social
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problem should satisfy four criteria
The cause of the problem should be found in global
rather than national processes
Such problems can spread across national borders
despite efforts of sovereign states
The problem is increasingly difficult to resolve at a
national level
International bodies have emerged in order to assist
nation-states in dealing with the social problem
concerned
What are global social problems?
Global Social Problems
Examples would include:
 Forced migration
 Climate change
 Global poverty
 International Crime
 Terrorism
 International Drug
Smuggling
 Health Pandemics
Global Social Problems
Global Welfare Issues
 Global welfare issues are in large part an aspect of
global social problems
 We have seen that conspicuous social problems can
have clear global dimensions (See George and Page
above)
 Welfare issues are those which relate to the wellbeing of people - whether individuals or groups of
people
 Welfare centres on people's material
circumstances, their well being (physical and
mental), quality of life, opportunities and access to
social services.
Risk and Social Science
 ‘Social theorists agree that Risk has become a central
organizing category of both the personal and public
domains. Life as a consequence has become more and
more about carving out ways of coping and managing
risk-sometimes through active engagement, sometimes
by resigned acceptance, or even confused denial’
 Elliot, A (2014) Contemporary Social Theory: An
Introduction, Second Edition, Routledge, page 305
Risk Societies
 The British sociologist Anthony Giddens argues that in the
present era which he calls late modernity we no longer have
the confidence in experts, science and social systems that
we used to have
 Giddens argued that our ontological security has been
affected and that we can no longer rely on the traditional
meanings and identities of the past. Our lives have become
more complex in our day to day experiences and in terms of
the different stages of the life cycle
 Giddens view is shared by German sociologist Ulrich Beck
who has stated that we have moved from an industrial to a
risk society
Giddens and Beck
Anthony Giddens
Ulrich Beck
Risk society
“Risk society is the term used to describe our modern
society…. The consequences of human actions on areas such
as pollution, global warming, BSE, have introduced new
sources of risk and uncertainty…… In a risk society
traditional certainties and securities can no longer be
assumed. Increases in scientific knowledge lead to a more
contingent society where the risks of anticipated events
influence today’s decisions”
See Giddens, A website for discussion of runaway world and
‘social reflexivity the fact that we have constantly to think
about, or reflect upon, the circumstances in which we live
our lives’
Ulrich Beck and Risk Society
 Limitation
 Accountability
 Compensation
 Precautionary after-care
(Beck, 1992: 103)
Global Risk
 Industrial society created risks and has failed to
control them- ecological, nuclear, Internet etc.
 He suggests late modernity is not intrinsically more
dangerous than the pre-modern era consider famines
for example
 However, Beck contends pre-modern societies had no
notion of risk and did not engage in risk management
Global Risk
 In the late modern era there are global hazards that
confront all of us: industrial, technological, chemical,
nuclear etc.
 Beck argues this situation can be defined as ‘world risk
society’
 ‘Bound up with the new electronic global economy. We live
on the edge of high technological innovation and scientific
development, but where no one fully understands the
possible global risks and dangers we face’(ibid., p284).
Risk Society
Risk in Society
Risk Society
Risk Society
Risk Society
 Can we say that a risk society is a post-modern society?
Are they the same thing?
 No, but they are linked. Risk involves not just
economic, corporate and political aspects, it also
involves cultural risks
 E.g. lifestyle choices: LGBT, religious movements, new
social groupings. That they may be post-modern
means there is no controlling ‘grand narrative’ but a
variety of narratives
Risk Society and the Individual
 In essence the modern age has come to a close and we now
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live in a reflexive society
A combination of reflection and doing what we can
consciously but also actions are taken which are ad hoc and
not properly thought through which might create further
instability
Reflexive modernization has disembedded us from the
hold of tradition and previous roles, e.g. gender, class,
sexuality (Beck, 1997)
Increasing engagement with both the intimate and public
spheres of our lives
Linked to risk society
More and more individual decision making
Individualization
 Through Risk Management we are forced to make
more and more decisions ourselves, that previous
generations did not have to, e.g. careers, health,
pensions etc.
 All this requires planning, rationalization,
engagement, deliberation etc.
 Risk society is lived like this
Risk, Trust and Security
 Sources of trust/security counterbalance sources of
risk/danger.
 In pre-modern society, trust was located in the kinship
system, local community, religion and tradition.
 Kinship and location remain sources of trust but have
become less linked to local contexts.
 We put our trust in expert systems, and face-to-face
relationships, particularly romantic love.
Trust in Systems and Failure
 Legal Systems – will protect me if something happens
 Banking systems – will keep my money safe
 Transport systems – will get me where I need to go
 Airport security – will keep me safe on the plane
 Typhoon Warning systems, Earthquake monitoring
systems etc.
 Trust in Experts is fundamental, but questioned in our
global society
Risk and Abstract Systems
Risk and Abstract Systems
Globalization and Social Problems
 In the present day our knowledge of global social problems
has been heightened by the transmission of images and
information conveying how people are affected by some of
the negative sides of globalization
 Often in the literature we are referred to cross border
problems which arise from economic, social and cultural
practices and transmissions across traditional lines of
demarcation
 Examples of these global social problems – drugs
trafficking, human trafficking, large scale migrations- are
given below. Each raises issues about human well being
and welfare which confront individual Governments and
global organisations. In our discussion of these examples
we often refer to them as evidencing global crisis
Globalization and Drugs
World Drug Report 2013
Harm and Drug Use
World Drug Use- World Drug Report (2009 )
Globalization and Migrations
 Two of the most powerful forces to shape world history have been
population growth and urbanisation and it is in the urban context that
societies address their most concentrated welfare problems
 Our world population is experiencing two great changes, falling death
rates and still high birth rates in some countries/regions
 Population growth is greatest in those least economically developed
countries with limited resources to respond. In the urban setting
environmental and social problems are at their most pronounced in the
modern world
 In the present day population change has also been affected by war,
famine and disaster tearing apart families and exposing them to
enormous risk. While world history has always been partly shaped by
great migrations present day migrations and the refugee problem are
part of modern day globalization
World Migrations
Refugee Source Countries
Forced Migration and Refugees
European Migration Crisis (Washington Post May 2015)
Migration from Africa to Europe
Welfare of Migrants
 Globalization has intensified process of migration
 travel easier and quicker
 often result of poverty / economic circumstances arising out
of globalization
 Migration takes many forms
 Voluntary or Involuntary
 Temporary or Permanent
 Economic or Political
 Legal or Illegal
 Can be from rural areas to urban areas, across a national
border, or across continents
 Migration is associated with a wide range of welfare issues
Welfare of Migrants
 Welfare issues associated with migration are the result of
several factors
1. Migratory Process
 Illegal migrants - likely to find only low paid, insecure
employment, to live in poor conditions, to lack political
social and economic rights, move frequently to avoid police
 Guest workers - recruited for specific jobs, cannot change
their employment, often have to reside in designated
accommodation, denied political rights, families cannot
join them, marginalised in society
 Citizenship migration - no conditions on kind of job,
residence or length of stay, have equal rights with other
citizens
Welfare of Migrants
2. Ethnicity of migrant
 Public perception with regard to the economic and cultural
factors, religion and skin colour can play a part in migrants being
perceived as a threat to society or facing discrimination
3. Attitudes and Policies
 Policies can be discriminatory, which in turn can foster negative
attitudes amongst public, and violence towards migrants In
Europe current period marked by 'crack down' on immigration
Contemporary discourse marginalizes migrants / encourages
discrimination
4. State of the economy
 Availability of jobs, regular wages and opportunities for upward
mobility, and absence of threat to the economic circumstances of
the receiving society
Welfare of Migrants
 Migrants often vulnerable in the labour market - to
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exploitation; losing their job; poor quality employment
Men and women may experience migration differently e.g.
women may be particularly low paid
Migrants can be separated from their family for many years
- emotional effects of separation
Poor housing and 'ghettoization'
Racism and Violence
Inequality in education
Disadvantage cumulative
Migrant Rescues Europe
Border Crossing Calais
Welfare of Refugees and Asylum
Seekers
 Refugees and asylum seekers are people who flee a country because of a
fear of persecution based on their political or religious beliefs or fear
for their safety in context of war or civil war.
 United National High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated
around 22 million refugees at end of 20th Century UNHCR role is to
protect rights of refugees
http://www.unhcr.org.uk/
 Refugees from Asia, Africa and Middle East seeking a safe haven in
European countries have found they are increasingly excluded and lack
basic rights
 Welfare of refugees and asylum seekers threatened in current period,
 Income and support offered by state to asylum seekers meagre to deter
migration
 Detention and Deportation common
 Public are generally hostile to refugees
Human trafficking in context
Involves deception, intimidation or coercion
 Two main forms of human rights abuse:
 labour exploitation
 sexual exploitation
 Involves organised criminal gangs:
 prostitution
 forced labour
 illegal immigration
 loan-sharking
 drugs
 money laundering
Human Trafficking
 Human trafficking.org focuses on human trafficking issues in
East Asia and the Pacific
http://www.humantrafficking.org/
 Poverty and lack of economic opportunity make women and
children potential victims of traffickers, international
criminal organizations. They are vulnerable to false promises
of job opportunities in other countries.
 Many of those who accept these offers from what appear to be
legitimate sources find themselves in situations where their
documents are destroyed, they or their families threatened
with harm, or they are bonded by a debt that they have no
chance of repaying.
Human Trafficking
 Women and children are particularly vulnerable to trafficking for the sex trade,
but human trafficking is not limited to sexual exploitation. It also includes
persons who are trafficked into 'forced' marriages or into bonded labour
markets, such as sweat shops, agricultural plantations, or domestic service.
 Case in UK of 23 cockle pickers who had been smuggled into UK from China 23
died, caught in the tide coming in while working on the beach in the dark; the
water rose very quickly
 Found to have been paid very little and housed in very bad conditions; see
story here
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jun/20/ukcrime.humanrights
 See story of woman who had been tricked into prostitution by traffickers
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/feb/06/sex-traffick-romania-britain
Global Crises and the Future of
Globalization
 In the past 15 years 0ur understanding of globalization has changed and
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the arguments about global economic growth that dominated are now
challenged by alternative accounts which point to the uneven benefits of
economic growth
Since 9/11 our political world has been affected by the US and western
powers global war on terror, by conflicting religious ideologies and
political upheaval in the middle east and civil wars in Africa
To this can be added the impact of the global financial crisis which in
the western economies especially has had long term effects on
Government budgets, unemployment and welfare spending
In the social sphere in addition to the social problems examined in this
lecture we can point to challenges such as environmental damage and
degradation, food, natural resources and energy crises, pandemics and
health crises.
One thread that runs through the reaction to all of these examples is
what Manfred Steger has called ‘the fortifying of the market globalist
paradigm’ See Steger, M (2013) Globalization: A Very Short Introduction,
Oxford
Conclusion
 We have examined selective social problems and welfare
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issues and how they are defined
We have examined what is meant by social policy – the
responses to welfare issues
We have examined the ideas and values that underpin social
policies
We have examined global social problems and global welfare
issues
We have examined some initial information on modern day
global social problems – drugs, migration and human
trafficking
Our overall aim is to understand how welfare issues arise in
the context of globalization and to reflect on what this means
for policy and the people involved
Recommended Reading
Bales, K et al (2009) Modern Slavery: The Secret World of 27 Million People, OneWorld
Publications
Cohen, R and Kennedy, P (2012) Global Sociology, Third Edition, Palgrave, chapter s 20-22
Elliott, A (2014) Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction, Second Edition, Routledge,
especially chapters 10 and 11
George, V and Page, R (2004) Global Social Problems, Polity
Giddens, A and Norton, P W (2012) Sociology, 7th Edition, Polity, especially chapters 13 and
21
Marfleet, P (2006) Refugees in a Global Era, Palgrave MacMillan
Martell, L (2010) The Sociology of Globalization, Polity
Urry, J (2002) Global Complexity, Polity
www.unodc.gov United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
www.unodc.gov/human-trafficking
www.amnesty.org/refugees
www.globalissues.org
Woodward, K (2010) Social Sciences: The Big Issues, Routledge, Second Edition, chapter 7
Thinking About Your Assessments
Assessments for the Module
 There are two assessments.
 The first is a theory essay (2,000 words) This requires you
to understanding of selected theories of social change
covered in the module. You choose which theories they
wish to discuss from the list provided.
 The second is a project essay focussing upon the impact
of globalization with reference to a specific welfare issue or
policy area of choice
 The deadline for the first assessment is 1500hrs (UK time
on Tuesday 24th November 2015
 The deadline for the second assessment is 1500hrs UK time
on Tuesday 1st December
Assessment Task 1
 Analyse and evaluate the usefulness of one of the
following concepts for explaining the nature of society
today, giving examples from everyday life in Hong
Kong and internationally to illustrate your answer:
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Consumer society
McDonaldized society
Risk society
Global society
Postmodern society
 The word limit is 2,000 words including references and
quotations
Assessment Task 2
(a) What is meant by the term ‘global social problem?’
(25% of marks)
(b) From the list below choose one problem and analyse
how and why it may be regarded as a global social
problem (75% of marks)
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Organised crime
Drug use and drug trafficking
Human trafficking
Migration and refugees
 The total word length is 2,000 words , including
references and quotations
Approaches to Assessment
 There are no tricks in the assessment tasks and even now you should
have some idea of the assessments that you feel most comfortable with
and which you will gain most satisfaction in completing
 Your work towards completing your assessments will require you to:
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6.
Decide on which topic you wish to concentrate
Read around the topic and take notes to accumulate knowledge
Ensure that you have combined information from the right sources,
academic and scholarly sources, newspapers and media, internet
searches and specialist sites
Write up your answer ensuring that you stick to the question
Check through what you have written to ensure that you have written
a balanced essay, which includes supporting evidence and which
refers to the key sources you have used
Check your expression, your use of English and grammar. You may ask
someone else to help you with this
Getting Prepared - Reading
 The previous slide says something about your approach and some of the
important things to pay attention to
 The first and crucial stage is the preparatory stage.
 To begin with you should read over the lecture notes and your tutorial notes
and identify which lectures/tutorials help you most with the topics you have
chosen
 From these you should be able to identify two types of reading which will help.
These are the relevant chapters in the general sociology textbooks and the
more specialist texts which are referred to in the lectures and tutorials. In the
Module and Lecture Guides you will find lots of references to books articles, etc
 Make your notes on these or better still have photocopied sections of the main
parts in your file to help you when working
 Work through these and your lecture notes and make a list of points that you
think help you answer the question set
 While you are doing this also try to find a quotation which helps you
understand and summarise what these main points are.
 Think even at this stage about the structure of your answer
Getting Prepared – Web Sites
 There are lots of websites you can use but in the Lectures,
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Tutorials, Day Schools and in the Module Guide you will have
been given web site references.
Look at the web sites which have academic , or policy relevance
and which contain reports and data which will help you
In the general sociology and social policy texts and in the
specialist books you will also find references to web sites which
academic scholars have used. These web sites are sometimes
referred to in the text and are always cited at the end of chapters.
The texts by MacIonis and Plummer, Giddens and Sutton, Cohen
and Kennedy are particularly good in this regards.
Spend some time on these web sites and use them as if they were
books. Make notes, keep references, extract data, comment and
quotation.
If you are getting nothing from a website back out of it.
What will tutors be looking for?
 There are no tricks and the assessment tasks are clear
 For both assessments there are some general guiding
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principles
Your tutors will be looking for you to demonstrate
understanding of the materials you have used and in your
writing to display understanding of the module’s content
You are not expected to go back to original thinkers, but to
use the secondary sources intelligently
You are advised also to think hard about the assessment
word length and to give your writing balance and
perspective
Lay out your text carefully, check it over and ensure that
you have expressed yourself clearly
What does a good answer have?
We do not want to be too prescriptive, but a good answer will
have:
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6.
A clear and well researched argument, supported by relevant
evidence
A logical progression in argument, points that build and an
academic flow
An argument which is based on reading, not on hearsay, or the
popular press
A presentation which takes care to cite sources and integrate direct
references and quotations where necessary
An effective combination of sources- hard data, scholarly
referencing, summary of learned works
End of text referencing using the Harvard referencing system
How many points should I make?
 Think carefully about the titles of the assessments
 There will probably be 4 or 5 main points to make and perhaps
some subsidiary points
 How you make the points is important. Start with the main
points:
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Make the point in your first sentence
Develop it using description and evidence
Provide analysis of its importance
Include supportive quotation, if possible
Indicate the extent of your reading with end paragraph Harvard
referencing
Link to the next point
 Be careful not to overwrite, or underwrite. Take care not to
produce paragraphs which read like a series of notes. Don’t write
your answer as one or two long paragraphs
Answering the Question
 When reading your work Tutors will pay attention to the overall
impact of what you have written and how successful you have
been in dealing with the question.
 A successful essay will have:
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3.
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A clear structure and presentation. It will not jump about, but
will be logical and easy on the eye and brain
Appropriate and relevant content and knowledge with direct
references to sources and data
A consistent argument and evidence of analysis and evaluation
Scholarly referencing in the main text and at the end of the text
Often it is said that a good answer should have a good
Introduction a Middle and a Conclusion. That is true , but the
balance must be right