Globalization Old and New

1. Globalization Old and New PS 314, Spring 2006 January 17th

2. Globalization and the Return of History • 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: • 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?

3. Keohane and Nye • 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.

4. The Definitional Question • 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”

5. The Relationship Between Interdependence and Globalism • Globalism (the state of being) and globalization (the increase of globalism) are related to interdependence in two ways: • Globalism is more extensive, and involves networks of reciprocal relations (thus excluding bilateralism) • 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)

6. The Usefulness of the Definition • 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: • Economic globalization • Military globalization • Environmental globalization • Social and cultural globlization Note that they say nothing about political globalization. Why?

7. Applying the Definition • 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

11. Characterizing Contemporary Globalization • 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.

12. Complex Interdependence • 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: • Multiple actors and channels • Multiple issues • The irrelevance of the unilateral threat or use of force among states linked by CI

13. CI and Globalization • 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.