CONTEMPORARY WORLD (midterm
reviewer)
Lesson 5: AWORLD OF REGIONS
GLOBALIZATION
i. affects economic, political processes at
the global level
ii. signifies events relating to the globe or
all over the world.
iii. World is becoming more
interconnected
iv. Globalization promotes the integration
of economies across state borders all
around the world
REGIONALIZATION
I. It is examined in relation to identities,
ethics, religion, ecological
sustainability and health.
II. It is a process and must be treated as
an "emergent, socially constituted
phenomenon."
III. The opposite of globalization because
it is dividing an area into smaller
segments.
IV. It is also seen as political and
economic phenomenon.
COUNTRIES, REGIONS AND
GLOBALIZATION
Edward D. Mansfield and Helen V. Milner
state that economic and political
definitions of regions vary, but there are
certain basic features that everyone can
agree on.
1. Regions are a group of countries
located in the same geographic area.
2. The words Regionalization and
Regionalism should not be interchanged,
as the former refers to regional
concentration of economic flows while the
latter is a political process characterized by
economic policy cooperation and
coordination among countries
Regions are not natural or given; rather,
they are constructed and defined by
policymakers, economic actors, and even
social movements.
Countries form regional associations for
several reasons:
1. Military Defense - The most widely
known defense grouping is North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) formed
during the Cold War when several
Western European countries plus the
United States agreed to protect Europe
against the threat of Soviet Union.
2. To pool their resources, get better
returns for their exports, as well as expand
their leverage against trading partners.
3. Form regional blocs to protect their
independence from the pressures of super
power politics.
4. Economic Crisis - The Thai economy
collapsed in 1996 and It made Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
more "unified and coordinated"
1. the rise of religious fundamentalism -
is on the rise globally as religious leaders
attempt to regain control over their
followers in the face of modernization and
secularization.
2. the resurgence of indigenous religions
- Indigenous religions are also making a
comeback in many parts of the world as
people seek to reconnect with their cultural
roots.
3. the spread of new religious
movements - we are seeing the spread of
new religious movements around the
world. These movements are often based
on Eastern religions like Buddhism,
Hinduism, and Taoism, but they are also
appearing in the West.
The Importance of Globalization of
Religion
Globalization transforms the generic
'religion' into a world-system of
competing and conflicting religions. This
process of institutional specialization has
transformed local, diverse and fragmented
cultural practices into recognizable
systems of religion
What is the role of religion in the
contemporary world?
1 . giving meaning and purpose to life,
2. reinforcing social unity and stability.
3. serving as an agent of social control of
behavior,
4 promoting physical and psychological
well-being, and
5. motivating people to work for positive
social change
What are the effects or impact of
globalization on religion?
Religion provides a sense of
belongingness to a group in the world.
Globalization
a. Places value on material wealth
b. Abides by human-made laws
c. Globalists are less worried about
whether they will end up in heaven or
hell.
d. The globalist ideal is largely focused
on the realm of markets.
e. The globalist wishes to spread goods
and services
Religion
a) Concerned with the sacred
b) Follows divine commandments
c) Religious people are less concerned
with wealth and all that comes along
with it.
d) The religious is concerned with
spreading holy ideas global
what is a global city?
1. Saskia Sassen (1994), (born January 5,
1947) is a Dutch-American sociologist
noted for her analyses of globalization and
international human migration.
 a global city serves as an important
focal point for business, global trade,
finance, tourism and globalization to
exist.
2. Neil Brenner (1998)
 A global city pertains to an urban
centre that enjoys significant
competitive advantages and that serves
as a hub within a globalized economic
system.
3. Adam Smith (2003)
 it emanates from the idea that
globalization is created, facilitated &
enacted in strategic geographic locales
(cities) according to a hierarchy of
importance to the operation of global
system of finance and trade.
4. Arthur Alderson & Jason Beckfield
(2004)
 A Global City, also known by other
terminologies as "alpha city" or "world
center" is a city regarded as a primary
node in the global economic network
Kearney's list, developed in conjunction
with the Chicago Council on Global
Affairs. Their most recent version is the
2012 Global Cities Index.
This study uses criteria across five
dimensions:
1. Business Activity (headquarters,
services firms, value of goods through
ports and airports)
2. Human Capital (size of foreign born
population, quality of universities, )
3. Information Exchange (accessibility
of major TV news channels, Internet
presence)
4. Cultural Experience (number of
sporting event, museums, performing arts).
5. Political Engagement (number of
embassies and consulates, political
conferences)
"The Global Power City Index 2011."
This report examined cities in terms of
functions demanded by several "actor"
types: Manager, Researcher, Artist,
Visitor, and Resident.
The functional areas were:
i. Economy (Market Attractiveness,
Regulations and Risk)
ii. Research and Development
(Research Background, Research
Achievement)
iii. Cultural Interaction (Trendsetting
Potential, Dining and Shopping,
Volume of Interaction)
iv. Livability (Working Environment,
Cost of Living, Security and Safety,)
v. Environment (Ecology, Pollution,
Natural Environment)
vi. Accessibility (International
Transportation Infrastructure, Inner
City Transportation Infrastructure
rankings attempt to look at global cities
in four basic ways:
1. Advanced producer services production
mode
2. Economic giants.
3. International Gateway.
4. Political and Cultural Hub.
Six cities stand out. The "Big Six" include
the traditional 'super cities' of
1. London
2. New York
3. Paris
4. Tokyo
5. Hong Kong
6. Singapore
They have significant competitive
advantages, but nonetheless are vulnerable
to other dynamic gateway cities that are
well positioned to capture spill-over
demand, notably Seoul, Toronto and
Sydney and, over the longer term,
Shanghai.
ESSENTIAL TRAITS OF A GLOBAL
CITY
1. A variety of international financial
services, notably in finance, insurance, real
estate, banking, accountancy, and
marketing.
2. Headquarters of several multinational
corporations.
3. The existence of financial headquarters,
a stock exchange, and major financial
institutions.
4. Domination of the trade and economy of
a large surrounding area.
5. Major manufacturing centres with port
and container facilities.
6. Considerable decision-making power on
a daily basis and at a global level 7.
Centres of new ideas and innovation in
business, economics, culture, and politics.
8. Centres of media and communications
for global networks.
9. Dominance of the national region with
great international significance.
ESSENTIAL TRAITS OF A GLOBAL
CITY
1. High percentage of residents employed
in the services sector and information
sector.
2. High-quality educational institutions,
including renowned universities,
international student attendance, and
research facilities.
3. Multifunctional infrastructure offering
some of the best legal, medical, and
entertainment facilities in the country.
4. High diversity in language, culture,
religion, and ideologies.

2018 CITY CLASSIFICATION OF

GLOBAL CITIES

1. Alpha level cities are linked to major

economic states and regions into the world
economy, and are classified into four
sections, Alpha ++, Alpha +, Alpha, and
Alpha-cities.
2. Beta level cities are cities that link
moderate economic regions to the world
economy and are classified in three
sections, Beta+, Beta, and Beta - cities.
3. Gamma level cities are cities that link
smaller economic regions into the world
economy, and are classified into three
sections, Gamma+, Gamma, and Gamma-
cities Sufficiency-Sufficiency level cities
are cities that have a sufficient degree of
services so as not to be overly dependent
on world cities. This is sorted into High
Sufficiency cities and Sufficiency cities