Theories of Globalization

1. Theories of Globalization

2. Introduction Durkheim stated that industrialization will lead to the �dismantling of boundaries between societies� Weber pondered that the the spread of Calvinism and rational thinking in Europe would lead to the eventual dominance of western culture. Marx theorized that the bourgeoisie (industrial class), in their search for pro?ts and extraction of surplus from the proletariat (working class), would expand their geographical horizons drawing peripheral countries into the system as providers of cheap labor and raw materials. The above samples illustrate that globalization theory has been discussed for more than a century in the social sciences (political science, economics, sociology, geography etc.)

3. Wallerstein-World System Theory (WST) Wallerstein (1980) proposed World Systems Theory (WST), arguing that the capitalist mode of production would supersede others as it expanded across the globe. Central to Wallerstein�s ideas is the centrality of the nation-state and co-existence of different world systemsand cultures of which capitalism is the dominant one.

4. Dual not Uni-System Governing It was increasingly argued, for example, that transnational governance was emerging alongside national polities and that this was leading to a new political dualism. This idea was elaborated most explicitly with Rosenau�s work concerning �state-centric� and �multi-centric� worlds (Rosenau, 1990) (and see Chapter 5). Subsequently, Held (1991) argued most explicitly for the erosion of state power in the context of the rise of global governance

5. A Global Village In the 1960s, McLuhan captured the essence of this and coined the term, arguing that �the world has become compressed and electrically contracted, so that the globe is no more than one village� (McLuhan, 1964, p. 4). Although often employed in a simplistic manner subsequently, McLuhan�s original concept was complex He stated that human history was divided into three phases based on the dominant mode of communication: ? Oral ? Writing/painting ? Electronic McLuhan sums this up: �(t)oday, after more than a century of electric technology, we have extended our central nervous system in a global embrace, abolishing both space and time as far as our planet is concerned� (1964, p. 3). But, McLuhan states that this is not a world living in harmony, but one where there is �terror�, �uncertainty� and �tribalism�.

7. Winners and Losers There are thus winners and losers in the new global economy. Echoing neoclassical trade theory, neoliberal hyperglobalists argue that the rise of the global free market, while creating losers, makes everybody better off in the long run, and will eventually create a homogeneous af?uent and modern society. In contrast, radical hyperglobalists argue that the new patterns of inequality are likely to be permanent features. This harks back to neo-Marxist inspired structuralist and dependency theories developed in Latin America in the 1960s For the skeptics, as the vast majority of world trade and investment ?owstake place within and between the major blocs, the principal geographic outcome of this process is to further marginalize peripheral economies and to make it more dif?cult for semi-peripheral economies to compete. Signi?cant barriers are often placed around the major blocs: the EU�s Common Agricultural Policy, for example, discriminates markedly against agricultural exports from poorer countries.

8. Outstanding Controversies Conceptualization: What is the nature of globalization? Causality: What is driving it? Periodization: Is it new? Impacts: What are its outcomes?

9. Analyzing globalization � four important measures ? The extensity of global networks ? The intensity of global interconnectedness ? The velocity of global ?ows ? The impact propensity of global interconnectednes

10. Three views of space Absolute Relative Metaphorical

11. Looking at Space Time�space convergence Time�space distanciation Time�space compression

13. Significance of Place Empirical signi?cance of place � Emphasizing actual existing differences. Every place is not the same � �we are where we are�. Normative signi?cance of place � The �local� can stand for �good� things. A celebration of difference and authenticity and resistance to homogeneity. Epistemological signi?cance of place � How locality is important in knowledge formation. How ideas and perspectives are situated.

16. Complexity and Chaos View of Globalization Environment Self-organization AgentsSuper-Agents, Visionary Agents Fractal Chaotic�edge of chaos� or �chaotic edge� Vortexes Non-linear, multi-dimensional Dynamic Emerging states

17. Conclusion Collapsing and fluidity of scales Developing of geography of globalization Differentation of space is becoming more and more blurred