7.
6 RELIGION AND POSTMODERNITY
Unit 7.6.1 New forms of religion:
new religious
movements and
New Age movements
As discussed earlier in the chapter, new religious
movements, New Age movements, sects and
cults have grown at certain periods of history (see
Unit 7.1.1). This unit explores why the growth of
particular new religious movements and New Age
movements help us understand the role of religion in
people’s lives around the globe today.
Reasons for the growth of
sects and cults
Religious sects and cults are not a new phenomenon;
they have existed for centuries. Bruce (1995) traced
the emergence of the first sects to the reformation
of the Christian church in the 16th century in Europe.
Despite this, most existing sects and cults originated
in the 20th century, particularly in the 1960s
and 1970s. The growth of sects and cults can be
explained either in terms of why people choose to
join them or by looking at changes in wider society.
In reality, these two approaches are closely linked.
Marginality
Weber (1963, first published in 1922) provided
one of the earliest explanations for the growth
of sects. He argued that they were likely to arise
within marginal groups in society: members
of groups outside the mainstream of social life,
who often feel that they are not receiving the
prestige and/or economic rewards they deserve.
Marginalisation relates to the key concepts, as it
represents the idea that some groups in society
lack power and control, and see religion as a
form of resistance. One solution to this problem
is to join a sect based on what Weber called a
‘theodicy of disprivilege’ (a theodicy is a religious
explanation or justification; disprivilege is a lack
of material success and social status). This enables
people to explain their position in society and to
find a way to improve it.
Wilson (1970) pointed out that a variety of situations
could lead to the marginalisation of groups in society
and provide fertile ground for the development of sects.
These situations include defeat in war, natural disasters
or economic collapse. In part, the growth of sects in
the USA in the 1960s was accomplished through the
recruitment of marginal and disadvantaged groups.
The Nation of Islam, for example, aimed to recruit
poor and marginalised African Americans, such as
those serving a prison sentence. However, for the most
part, in the 1960s and 1970s the membership of the
world-rejecting new religious movements was drawn
from among the ranks of young, White middle-class
Americans and Europeans. Wallis (1984) argued that,
despite this background, most were marginal because
they were likely to be involved in alternative lifestyles
such as those relating to hippy subcultures, drug use
or surfing.
Relative deprivation
The concept of ‘relative deprivation’ refers to
subjectively perceived deprivation - the feeling
of having less than others. Certain members of
the middle class, for example, may feel spiritually
deprived rather than materially deprived in a world
they see as too materialistic, lonely and impersonal.
According to Wallis, this means that they therefore
seek salvation in the sense of community offered by
the sect; it becomes an opportunity.
Stark and Bainbridge (1985) also employed the
concept of relative deprivation in explaining the
origins of sects. They define sects as organisations
that break away from an established church, and
they believe it is the relatively deprived who are
likely to break away. McGuire (2002) argues that
the relative deprivation does not directly cause the
growth of sects, but it can produce conditions which
make growth more likely.
Social change
Wilson (1970) argued that sects arise during
rapid periods of social change when traditional
norms are disrupted and social relationships
come to lack consistent and coherent meaning.
He gave the example of the rise of Methodism
in the working-class communities during the
early years of the industrial revolution in Britain.
Methodism provided the support of a close-knit
community organisation, well-defined and strongly
sanctioned norms and values, and a promise of
salvation. Similarly, Bruce (1995, 1996, 2011)
attributes the development of a range of religious
institutions, including cults and sects, to a general
process of modernisation and secularisation.
455
 7 RELIGION

then the rationality of modernity also brought

Reasons for the growth of with it individualism, which led to the growth of
new religious movements non-rational beliefs.
The growth of new religious movements is a global
phenomenon, evidenced through membership and Activity
affiliation, although patterns are variable. Wallis (1984)
pointed to a number of social changes that he believed
accounted for the growth of new religious movements
in the 1960s, some of which particularly relate to
young people. First, Wallis stated that the growth of
higher education extended the transition between
childhood and adulthood, giving young people the time
to explore different ideas and lifestyles free from work
and family responsibilities. Second, the young felt that
new technology would lead to the end of economic
scarcity, giving the economic freedom to try out new :
J
ways of living. Third, radical political movements in
the 1960s encouraged the exploration of alternative
lifestyles. These reasons coincide with the large-scale
i
social change which led many individuals to turn to new | iv -

religious movements for individual reasons, such as

searching for identity, belonging and security.
Reasons for the growth of
New Age movements
John Drane (1999) argues that the appeal of New
Age movements is connected to the failure of new
religious movements to deliver personal satisfaction.
Drane, along with postmodernist sociologists,
claims that Western societies are turning against
modern institutions and belief systems. They claim
that people have lost faith in these due to the
problems experienced in the modern era, such as
the world wars and environmental destruction - for
example, the depletion of the ozone layer. There is
also considerable scepticism about science, such
as the way that some drug companies have placed
pursuit of profit over a desire to improve health
and cure illnesses. Similarly, the church is treated
with distrust due to its failure to keep in touch with
people’s need for spirituality and because it has been
associated with corruption and abuse cases. This has
led to people turning to New Age movements as an
alternative, postmodern form of spirituality. However,
many New Age movements are based on adapted
versions of existing religions. For example, yoga is
connected to Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, but
can be practised today in a secular or spiritual way.
On the surface, New Age movements appear to
contradict the view of sociologists such as Weber
that the modern world is becoming increasingly
rational. However, if Heelas and Bruce are correct,
456
Yoga is a relatively new practice in some parts
of the world.
Give two reasons why New Age movements
particularly appeal to middle-class women in
Western societies.
Key terms
Marginal groups Members of groups outside the
mainstream of social life, who often feel that they
are not receiving the prestige and/or economic
rewards they deserve.
Theodicy of disprivilege Weber’s concept for a set
of ideas which explain inequalities using religious
beliefs. A theodicy is a religious explanation or
justification; disprivilege is a lack of material
success and social status.
Relative deprivation This refers to subjectively
perceived deprivation - the feeling of having less
than others.
Summary
1. There are several reasons for the growth of
sects, cults and new religious movements,
including marginality, relative deprivation and
social change.
2. Drane saw the New Age as a product of
postmodernity and the rejection of modern
belief systems.

Unit 7.6.2 Religion in postmodern
global society:
irivatised belief and
undamentalism
Postmodern thinkers claim that patterns in religiosity
very much reflect the postmodern era in which
we now live, with its emphasis on greater choice
and individualism. Postmodern society is also
characterised by a greater focus on consumerism and
the commodification of religion, made possible partly
through the increasing role of the internet, mass media
and new forms of social media. This unit explores the
main characteristics of religion in postmodern society,
as well as exploring how the rise of fundamentalism
can be explained from this perspective.
Arguments for an increase in privatised
religion - believing without belonging?
Some sociologists claim that religion today may
be expressed in different ways. Religion for these
thinkers has become increasingly privatised; people
develop their own beliefs and relationship with God
and see religious institutions as being less important.
Davie (1994, 2007) coined the phrase ‘believing
without belonging’ to describe this situation. If
religion is increasingly seen as a choice open to
an individual, rather than an obligation imposed
by society, then people may increasingly hold
religious beliefs in private without feeling the need
to demonstrate them in public. Similarly, there are a
wide range of new forms of privatised religion which
are much harder to measure, as they take place in
the private sphere of the home - for example, online.
Lyotard - The rejection
of meta-narratives
The postmodernist Lyotard (1979) argued that
postmodernity involves growing 'incredulity towards
meta-narratives’ or a lack of faith in any big stories
about society and human progress (see Unit 7.1.2).
Both religion and scientific rational thought can be
seen as types of meta-narratives that individuals are
choosing to reject. From a postmodernist perspective,
people no longer feel that they need to accept and
adopt any single set of beliefs; rather, they wish
to find their own individual truth. Technological
advances have also lead to a plethora of new ways
in which religious ideas can be accessed, meaning
7.6 RELIGION AND POSTMODERNITY
that individuals can participate in religion in different
ways, such as viewing religious events online or
through social media - for example, the emergence of
televangelism, where people at home can participate
in religious services remotely. These technologically
based new forms of religious participation may be
challenging to measure.
Lyon - relocation of religion
and re-enchantment of the world
These ideas have been developed by the postmodernist
David Lyon (2000). According to Lyon, Western societies
are becoming increasingly consumerist, which is, in turn,
influencing religious ideas and practices. As consumers,
people do not wish to be told which religion to believe
in; they want to make up their own minds. According
to Lyon, religion is not therefore declining, it is simply
relocating to the sphere of consumption. Religion
has moved out of the traditional institutions such
as education and the law and instead become more
commercial so that people can consume and celebrate
religion in a number of ways. For example, in the USA,
Christian values such as the importance of marriage are
celebrated through Disney film characters in the theme
parks known as Disneyland. Religion has become part of
popular culture, through the media, social commentary
or through the messages espoused by companies, and
therefore Lyon does not believe that a decline in church
attendance indicates that secularisation has occurred.
Rather, there are alternative ways to participate in
religion. He claims that over the past three to four
decades there has been a re-enchantment, meaning
that, although traditional religions may be in decline,
alternative forms of religion and ways of practising
religions have developed in the West and elsewhere.
Activity
\
■i V,
4
• i
Televangelism is becoming a popular way for
people to participate in religion. It involves
watching religious services on television or online.
457
 7 RELIGION
1. Evaluate the view that televangelism is evidence
of a process of re-enchantment.
2. Explain how televangelism supports the idea of
belief without belonging.
Hervieu-Leger - spiritual shopping
Danifcle Hervieu-LSger supports postmodern views
of religion in Western societies; she also agrees
with Davie in claiming that religion has become
less public and more private. Hervieu-Leger argues
that religion was traditionally part of a chain of
memory (Hervieu-L6ger, 2000) - something that is
passed down from generation to generation which,
as Durkheim argued, helps to integrate society.
Rather than God being experienced in a direct and
personal way, churches have acted as intermediaries
and religion has been learned more than directly
experienced. However, in many European countries,
this chain of memory has, to some extent, been
broken. Secularisation has weakened the hold of the
traditional churches so that collective memories about
religion are no longer passed down from parents to
children with the force that they once were.
As a result of this, individuals have been left to
choose (or to reject) their own religious path. This
has resulted in individuals engaging in spiritual
individualism (Hervieu-Leger, 2006) in which people
shop around for the religion that suits them best, a
process also called spiritual shopping. This suggests
a shift towards people becoming consumers of
religion in which they expect to gain something from
their religious participation, usually self-improvement
or fulfilment. They may try to experience a variety
of religions and spiritual beliefs to see which
they prefer.
Hervieu-Leger does not believe that the influence of
Christian churches will disappear. Some individuals
will choose them as a ‘personal option’ Furthermore,
many people will be nostalgic for church services
and keen to maintain the fabric of beautiful church
buildings. Churches, however, will become less and
less important as a source of collective identity,
individual beliefs and moral values.
Evaluation of postmodernist views
As discussed earlier, patterns of religiosity are
complex and there is evidence which suggests that
some traditional religions such as Islam are in fact
growing rather than new forms of religion beginning
to overtake old forms. Furthermore, the postmodern
458
thinkers explored above tend to reflect on Western
religious practices, which are not necessarily
representative of global patterns. They also ignore
structural factors which affect the way that people
engage with religion - for example, the fact that
religion provides a source of comfort for structurally
marginalised groups with fewer opportunities.
Therefore, this approach may not offer a complete
explanation of religion in contemporary global society.
Religious fundamentalism
as a characteristic of
postmodern society
Despite the problems with postmodernist views,
one reason why postmodernism may be useful for
understanding the role of religion in society today is
that it helps to explain the emerging forms of religion
in contemporary society. While the secularisation
thesis suggests a progressive decline in religion,
previous sections have indicated that there are, in fact,
many parts of the world where religion appears to be
thriving or reviving. In a number of contexts, the term
‘fundamentalism' has been used to describe the nature
of religion today, particularly where it is undergoing an
enthusiastic revival in strongly held beliefs.
In a major comparative study of Strong Religion
(or fundamentalism), Gabriel Almond, R. Scott
Appleby and Emmanuel Sivan (2003) identified
fundamentalist movements among Jews in Israel;
Muslims in Pakistan, Palestine, Egypt and the Russian
regions of Dagestan and Chechnya; Sikhs and Hindus
in India; Christians in the USA and Ireland; and
Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Islamic fundamentalism has
perhaps been subject to more attention than other
forms, particularly after the Islamic fundamentalist
group al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks in the USA and the
rise and fall of Islamic State in Syria and bordering
countries. However, fundamentalism is by no means
confined to Islam. Furthermore, most Islamic people
(like most Christians, Hindus and the followers of
other religions) are not fundamentalists.
What is fundamentalism?
According to Bruce (2000), the term ‘fundamentalism’
was first used in the 1920s, when conservative
evangelical Protestants published a series of
pamphlets in which they called for a return to 'The
Fundamentals of the Faith’. These Protestants were
‘anti-modernist’ in that they objected to the way in
which, as they saw it, their religion was becoming

diluted in the modern world. Almond et al. (2003)
defined fundamentalism as ‘a discernible pattern of
religious militance by which self-styled “true believers”
attempt to arrest the erosion of religious identity,
fortify the borders of the religious community, and
create viable alternatives to secular institutions and
behaviours’ (Almond et al., 2003).
How can we explain the growth
of fundamentalism?
Fundamentalism itself is not new; examples of such
religious beliefs can be found throughout the history
of religion. However, there has been a recent growth
in the number of fundamentalist movements. There
are a number of explanations for the growth of
fundamentalist groups, which are in many ways a
response to the forces of globalisation and rapid
social change. Globalisation, the process whereby
the world is becoming increasingly interconnected,
has been happening over a long period of time.
However, over the past A0 years globalisation has
rapidly increased as a result of technological and
communicative advances. The effects of recent
globalisation have included the spread of liberal
Western values (including tolerance to same-sex
relationships, sex outside marriage, equality between
the genders) and increased migration. These changes
have been interpreted in different societies and social
groups in a number of ways.
Cultural defence As discussed in earlier sections,
Bruce (2002) regards one role of religion today as
allowing people to protect and maintain their cultural or
ethnic identity. They generally do this as they perceive
their ideas, practices and beliefs to be under threat as a
result of rapid social changes and the spread of liberal
values. An assertion of traditional or fundamentalist
values is a rejection of liberal values. Cultural defence
can also be a response to discrimination - for
example, Islamophobia. People may respond to such
discrimination through the strengthening of their
religious beliefs as a way of seeking comfort from a
world that is otherwise hostile. Remember that this
relates to the key concepts; for some, fundamentalism
provides a form of resistance to social change.
Cultural transition Another feature of a global
contemporary society is that there is far greater
migration. As Bruce points out, religion plays an
important social function in helping groups settle and
create networks in new locations. This is especially
true when moving into an area as a religious or
ethnic minority. It may be the case that people who
7.6 RELIGION AND POSTMODERNITY
were less religious in their previous location become
more religious in their new context, as a means of
coping with all of the changes.
Religious disengagement As seen earlier (see Unit
7.5.2), where states become more separate from
the influence of religious ideas, they may become
more liberal in their ideology. In fact, religious
disengagement within the state can actually lead to
a resurgence in religion, including fundamentalist
religion. This idea relates to the argument that, today,
religion has not become more privatised; rather, it
remains firmly part of public and political discourse.
We have seen how in the USA Christian fundamentalist
groups have had huge political presence, for example,
culminating in the election of President Trump in 2016.
Marginality Individuals who find themselves at the
edge of society - for example, those who experience
discrimination, racism and material deprivation -
may well be attracted to the security and strong
sense of identity that fundamentalist groups provide.
Also, individuals who feel left behind by the forces
of globalisation and are affected adversely by rapid
social change are also likely to feel more attracted to
fundamentalist groups.
Religious revival
Much of this section has explored how secularisation
probably reached its height in the 1970s and, since
then, how religious ideas have undergone a process
of renewal or revitalisation. Fundamentalism is one
such expression of this religious revival. Although
we have seen the development of rational modernity,
people still feel very much in need of religion as a
compensator, and for some, this comes in the form
of fundamentalism. Postmodernists claim that this
means people are looking for alternative, new forms of
religion which reflect the values and wishes of this era.
Bruce - fundamentalism as a reaction to
modernisation
Bruce (2000) sees fundamentalism as a reaction to
modernisation (as discussed earlier in Unit 7.1.3).
Modernisation, which according to Bruce has been
occurring throughout the past century, involves
societalisation (in which social life becomes increasingly
fragmented) and differentiation (in which religious life is
separated from other aspects of social life such as the
economy). Modernisation also involves rationalisation,
in which social life is planned to achieve certain goals,
not based upon faith or prayer. A further feature of
modernity is a tendency towards egalitarianism, in
459
 7 RELIGION
which all members of society share certain rights. For
example, it involves increasingly egalitarian gender
roles as women gain full citizenship rights. According
to Bruce, all of these processes challenge the authority
of religion, and in some circumstances groups with
strongly held religious beliefs will try to defend their
religion against the perceived threats.
In Western countries such as the USA, modernisation
has provided a local and immediate challenge to some
aspects of traditional religious belief. Elsewhere -
for example, in Islamic countries such as Iran and
Turkey - the process of modernisation has produced a
range of responses.
In both sets of circumstances, Bruce believes that
‘the main cause of fundamentalism is the belief
of religious traditionalists that the world around
them has changed so as to threaten their ability to
reproduce themselves and their tradition’ (2000).
He sees fundamentalism as a 'rational response
of traditionally religious peoples to social, political
and economic changes that downgrade and
constrain the role of religion in the public world’
(Bruce, 2000).
Almond et al. (2003) - fundamentalism
as a response to secularisation and
modernisation
Almond et al. (2003) discussed the findings of a
major comparative study of fundamentalist religions
throughout the world. Their findings correspond
with postmodernist explanations and observations.
A total of 75 case studies were carried out by
researchers over a 20-year period, and interviews
were conducted in the Middle East, North Africa and
the United States.
They follow Bruce in seeing fundamentalism
as a reaction to the social changes associated
with modernisation and secularisation. Without
secularisation, there would be no need for a
fundamentalist movement. Furthermore, the
development of communications has contributed to
globalisation, and with it the influence of Western
secular rationalism has spread to non-Western
countries. However, it has also provided opportunities
for fundamentalists to organise and spread their
message. Thus, the New Christian Right in the USA
have made extensive use of the media, including
starting their own TV stations. The internet has been
important in spreading Islamic fundamentalism
460
worldwide. It also allows the 'demonstration effect’ or
copycat behaviours such as suicide bombings.
Key terms
Privatised religion Religion of significance to the
individual but which has relatively little connection
to religious institutions and little or no Importance
in wider society.
Re-enchantment The process by which people
re-engage with spirituality.
Chain of memory The way that memories
(including religious beliefs) are passed down from
one generation to the next.
Spiritual individualism Religion in which
individuals follow their own spiritual path rather
than following the teachings of a particular
religious leader or religious institution.
Spiritual shopping The idea that people relate
to religion as consumers, and that they select and
consume various forms of religion, sometimes
multiple forms at the same time.
Liberal Western values A set of ideas which focus
on individualism and choice as well as rights.
Religious revival The idea that spiritual and
religious ideas and practices are going through
a period of growth as people re-engage with the
same or new forms of belief systems.
Egalitarianism The tendency towards becoming
more equal.
Summary
1. Postmodern thinkers claim that patterns in
religiosity very much reflect the postmodern
era in which we now live, which includes
greater individualism.
2. Davie believes that there is a general trend
towards ‘believing without belonging’.
3. The postmodernist Lyotard claimed that,
as people reject major meta-narratives,
they turn to new forms of religion or
spirituality.
4. The postmodernist Lyon (2000) argues that
Western societies are becoming increasingly
consumerist, which is in turn influencing
religious ideas and practices.
 7.6 RELIGION AND POSTMOOERNITY

5. According to the postmodernist Hervieu-LSger,
in many European countries the chain of
memory (collective religious memories) has
been weakened and spiritual individualism and
spiritual shopping are replacing traditional
forms of religion.
6. Bruce and Almond et al. argued that the
growth of a range of fundamentalism is a
response to modernisation, secularisation,
globalisation and the spread of liberal values.

END-OF-PART QUESTIONS
I 0 I 1 I Describe two reasons for the growth of sects and cults. [4 marks]
I 0 1 2 1 Explain two limitations of the postmodernist accounts of religion. [6 marks]
1 0 1 5 1 The growth of fundamentalist religions is a response to rapid social change.’
Using sociological material, give one argument for this view. [6 marks]

EXAM-STYLE PRACTICE QUESTIONS

roTil The arguments against the secularisation thesis are stronger than the arguments for.’
Evaluate this view. [35 marks]
foTTl The extent to which religious organisations are patriarchal has been exaggerated.’
Evaluate this view. [35 marks]

461
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8 GLOBALISATION
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h Chapter contents
■I Section A Key debates, concepts and
K| perspectives
j^P Section B Contemporary issues
[*■ Exam-style practice questions
llTT This chapter explores the concept of ‘globalisation’.
9 However, this concept is not easy to define. Anthony
Giddens (1996), for example, claims that ‘there are
3H few terms that we use so frequently but which are
HI in fact as poorly conceptualized as globalization’.
Similarly, Wayne Ellwood (2015) describes
globalisation as the ‘least understood (concept)
\ of the new millennium’. Consequently, a number of
competing theories of globalisation exist, some of
which view globalisation very positively, while others
claim that it is extremely harmful to societies.
What is evident is that sociologists do not agree on
which dimensions of globalisation - if it is indeed
i
occurring - are the most significant elements of its
impact on the world.
Section A explores the debate about whether
globalisation is a beneficial or harmful
phenomenon. In particular, sociological perspectives
A are examined to work out whether they view
globalisation as a positive or negative form of
5 change. We also examine the possible impact of
i globalisation on the formation of individual and
large-scale identity. For example, have cultures
and therefore the identities of those who are
part of those cultures been overwhelmed by
a homogenised global culture? Or have they
been able to resist globalisation? Finally, has
- ~
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4
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Westernisation been mistaken for globalisation?
■
K
We also explore the impact of globalisation on
power and politics. For example, what has been
463 the impact of globalisation on the nation-state?
518 Wliy have social movements opposing globalisation
emerged in recent years? How can the nation-state
tackle problems such as environmental degradation
brought about by globalisation?
Section B explores contemporary issues associated
with globalisation. We explore how life chances
relating to education, income and health are
distributed around the world and sociological F
v
)
explanations for global inequalities. For example, is
global capitalism responsible for these inequalities
or are they self-inflicted? tfr
We also consider the causes and consequences of
global migration. For example, do migrants choose
to leave their societies of origin or are they pushed
out by social factors beyond their control? How are
they received by the societies in which they arrive?
Do migrants experience the same job opportunities
and rights as members of indigenous populations?
Are indigenous workers ‘happy’ to welcome
migrant workers?
Finally, we explore the contemporary issue of
global crime. A range of global crimes is examined,
ranging from overtly criminal acts committed by
international human trafficking gangs and drug
cartels to corporate and green crimes committed
by ‘respectable’ transnational corporations. In
particular, we look at who benefits from the
globalisation of crime and issues relating to the N
difficulties of policing and prosecuting such crimes. p
 ■ V2 ¥ I
SECTION A
KEY DEBATES. CONCEPTS AND PERSPECTIVES
-
Contents
Part 1 Perspectives on globalisation 464
Part 2 Globalisation and identity 477
ft Part 3 Globalisation, power and politics 494
Section A focuses on key debates, concepts
and perspectives on the process and impact of
i
globalisation. Three of the key concepts that you
were introduced to in the introductory chapter are
1
H relevant here.
rT
J First, think about power, control and resistance. One
I of the reasons why digital technology, one of the
L cornerstones of globalisation, expanded so rapidly
j in influence across the world is because ownership
Y and control of digital communication systems
became increasingly concentrated in the hands of
fewer transnational corporations. Some critics of this
concentration of ownership argue that it amounts to
an unhealthy control of news and information, and
that consequently ordinary people may be unable
p to gain an accurate and detailed knowledge of the
world. These criticisms have led to calls for the state
to get more involved in the regulation of digital
technology in order to prevent these corporations
abusing their power. However, some Marxists argue
that digital technology has produced a networked
^ global society and has transformed the relationship
between the electorate and the powerful. They argue
that digital technology has the potential to revitalise
I democracy because it gives a ‘voice’ to traditionally
powerless groups such as those in poverty, women,
the LGBT community and the anti-globalisation
movement. It gives oppressed people the ability to
facilitate social change.
Second, keep social change and development in
mind. Some sociologists claim that human history
can be reduced to four major social changes or
stages of development: the agricultural revolution,
the industrial revolution, the computer revolution
( and the digital revolution. Globalisation is often
portrayed as the final stage of history of both
modern Western society and of those societies
situated in the developing world. In the eyes of many
politicians, economists and sociologists, globalisation
is responsible for a permanent deindustrialisation of
the West and the shifting of significant economic and
cultural power permanently eastward.
Third, consider socialisation, culture and identity.
We examine how globalisation may have impacted
in both positive and negative ways on identity. Some
sociologists claim that globalisation has the potential
to produce a global consciousness in which difference
and inequality in all their forms are eradicated so
that human beings will view themselves primarily
as citizens of a one-world society. Some sociologists
dismiss this scenario as too utopian and argue that at
best we should hope that the process of globalisation
can raise social and political consciousness - for
example, so that citizens across the world can unite to
oppose breaches of human rights. Other sociologists
argue that these aspirations are too ambitious and
that globalisation may only impact on people’s ability
to construct their personal identity by providing them
with increased consumer choices.
LL
Section A is divided into three parts. Part 1
if
explores what sociologists mean by ‘globalisation’ CL
and considers its economic, political and cultural UL
dimensions. It examines three broad sociological
perspectives on this phenomenon: 'globalists’, who
view globalisation in a very positive light; ‘sceptics’,
who consider globalisation to be extremely harmful to
societies, and ‘transformationalists’, who argue that
globalisation may eventually have the positive effect of
reducing national differences and global inequalities.
The second part of this section is focused on
globalisation and identity, specifically on whether
global forces have affected people’s sense of self. For
example, has globalisation produced a global identity
or consciousness? Or has it reinforced people’s sense
of national or religious identity as they seek to resist
global forces? How have individuals and cultures
adapted to globalisation? How might global forces '
themselves be shaped by local cultures?
The third part of this section focuses on globalisation,
power and politics. In particular, it explores two
important concepts, liberal democracy and human
rights, and the ability of nation-states to defend these
important principles in the context of globalisation.
Moreover, it examines how the nation-state tackles
problems such as environmental degradation brought
about by globalisation.
 S GLOBALISATION
PART 1 PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBALISATION
Contents
Unit 8.1.1 Key definitions and issues 464
Unit 8.1.2 The significance of different
dimensions of globalisation 467
Unit 8.1.3 Theories of globalisation 472
In Part 1. we explore key definitions and issues
surrounding globalisation, which is a contested
concept that sociologists rarely agree upon. In
particular, it is important to understand that there
are three main ways in which globalisation has
impacted on the world at large and on individual
cultures and nation-states. First, sociologists
are interested in the consequences of economic
Unit 8.1.1 Key definitions and
issues
Globalisation is a complex process and one that
is difficult to define. In this unit we consider the
challenges of defining globalisation, the processes
that make up globalisation and how globalisation has
developed in different ways since the prehistoric period.
Defining globalisation
Manfred Steger (2017) notes that the concept of
globalisation has been used in both the popular
press and academic literature to describe ‘a process,
a condition, a system, a force and an age’. He argues
that, as these competing labels have very different
meanings, their indiscriminate usage is often obscure
and invites confusion. Consequently, he argues that
globalisation as both a concept and a theory of
social change is highly contested. Moreover, there
is an unfortunate tendency to reduce the complex
concept of globalisation to the simplistic metaphor of
an ‘unstoppable juggernaut’ which is determined on
spreading Western capitalism and cultural values and
‘flattening or eradicating local, regional and national
cultures and traditions’.
Steger suggests that sociologists need to adopt a
more nuanced approach to understand globalisation.
464
globalisation for the economies of the world.
Second, some sociologists claim that political
globalisation has occurred and that consequently
the nation-state may be in decline. Third,
sociologists are also interested in socio-cultural
globalisation and how this is impacting on local
cultures and identities. Underpinning all three
dimensions of globalisation is the debate as to
whether it is a positive or negative process. Some
sociologists - the globalists - are very positive
about globalisation, while others (particularly
Marxists and feminists), are more cautious
and sometimes very sceptical about its effects.
Postmodernists, on the other hand, believe that
globalisation has the potential to ‘transform’ the
world for the ‘better’.
This approach sees globalisation as incorporating
three very distinct concepts:
1. ‘Globality’ signifies a social condition characterised
by tight economic, political, cultural and
environmental interconnectedness and flows
underpinned by technological innovation that have
rendered most national borders and boundaries
irrelevant. However, Steger does argue that we
should not assume that full globality is already
upon us. He also warns that it is not known what
form full globality will eventually take or what its
effects will be, despite the sociological debate as to
whether globalisation is a good or bad thing.
2. ‘Global imagining’ refers to people’s growing
consciousness of 'thickening globality’. Steger claims
that people across the world still have a sense of
‘home’ and generally still subscribe to a sense of
local or regional or tribal or ethnic or religious
identity. However, Steger argues that national
identity is increasingly diluted as globality thickens.
3. ‘Glocalisation’ - as globality evolves, it produces
a dynamic global-local nexus which changes
the character of both the national and local.
Steger uses the world’s most popular sports
event, the men’s football (soccer) World Cup, to
illustrate these concepts. He points out that this
four-yearly event is a great example of globality
and globalisation in that it is organised by a
global organisation - FIFA - which represents
every country with an official football association

that has agreed to follow the same global rules
and regulations. The globality of the event can
be illustrated by the fact that the location of the
tournament has rotated across continents since
it began in 1930. Moreover, the World Cup is a
global television event - every game is shown live
to a global TV audience. The World Cup also has
global sponsorship in that global conglomerates
such as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s pay billions
of dollars to advertise their brands in stadiums
during matches and in the commercial half-time TV
breaks. However, Steger points out that the World
Cup has localised dimensions too, in that countries
compete with each other to host the tournament.
The way it is organised into groups followed by
knock-out rounds also encourages local pride as
national teams with low positions in FIFA’s rankings
- for example, Tunisia (ranked 21 st in 201 7) -
battle highly ranked football nations, for example,
Belgium (ranked third in 2017), to a draw or
inflict a shock defeat on them. Steger, therefore,
concludes that the men’s football World Cup is very
much both a global and glocalised event.
Activity
Football fans in Moscow's Red Square during
the 2018 men's World Cup. Steger sees the
World Cup as an example of both globality and
glocalisation.
Draw two columns; label the one on the left
'Example of globality’, and the one on the right
'Example of the glocal’.
Research the World Cup. Choose one of these events
- the 2014 men’s World Cup in Brazil, the 2018
men’s World Cup in Russia or the 2015 women’s
World Cup in Canada. Focus on finding information
8.1 PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBALISATION
on the following and categorise them as either
exclusively global in character or as an example of
glocalisation, a combination of the local and global.
» The qualifying group stage
> Ticket applications from fans of the countries
that have qualified
i Spectators banging drums, blowing vuvuzelas,
trumpets and so on, or doing Mexican waves
» The television audience that watched the World
Cup Final live
» Brazilian/Russian/Canadian spending on building
new stadiums and security
» Long-term effect on tourism to Brazil, Russia
or Canada
» The manufacture and import of replica kits and
World Cup footballs
» The artists chosen to perform at the
opening ceremony
» Winner of the Golden Ball for the best player in
the tournament
» The World Cup Final and the crowning of the
champions.
Steger, therefore, sees globalisation as a set of
social processes that transform our present local
social conditions and life experiences into one of
globality. At the micro-level of individual experience,
this means that distance is no longer an obstacle to
interaction between people separated by geography
or time-zones. Individuals can now interact and
communicate instantaneously with others who sit
at computers thousands of miles away in different
time zones. David Harvey (1990) refers to this global
transformation as space-time compression.
Martin Albrow (1987) claims that this has resulted
in the incorporation of the very different and varied
people and cultures of the world into a single
globalised culture and society, or ‘global village’. At
its simplest, globalisation means that the planet we
live on now feels smaller - remote places are now
more accessible than they were in the past.
On a macro-level, globalisation can be defined as a
process characterised by a growing engagement and
communication between societies wherever they are
located in the world and regardless of what language
they speak.
Robin Cohen and Paul Kennedy (2000) suggest
that globalisation refers to the increasing
interconnectedness and interdependency of the
465
 8 GLOBALISATION
world’s nations and their people, which has resulted in
a single global economic, political and cultural system.
As Allan Cochrane and Kathy Pain (2000) note, 'the
lives of ordinary people everywhere in the world seem
increasingly shaped by events, decisions and actions
that take place far away from where they live and
work’. Societies that were once distant, independent
and very different to one another are today
increasingly globally intertwined and interdependent,
whether they want to be or not. Moreover, the macro
and micro are also interwoven in that the everyday
local lives of ordinary people are increasingly shaped
by events, decisions and actions that take place
thousands of miles from where they live.
The causes of globalisation
Cohen and Kennedy argue that globalisation
needs to be understood as ‘a set of mutually
reinforcing transformations’ of the world. In order to
understand these ‘transformations’ and the causes
of globalisation, it is important to examine six
interrelated dimensions of globalisation:
y the historical
> the technological
y the economic
y the cultural
» the political
y the moral.
The historical dimension of globalisation
Steger argues that globalisation is not a modern
phenomenon but has actually been going on in a
piecemeal fashion for the past 2000 years. In particular,
culture, language, religion, and even disease, have
spread throughout the world as a result of the following:
y population growth which encouraged both trade
and migration
y the development of technology, especially in the
fields of weaponry, ship-design and navigation
y the control of such technology gave some
countries, especially in Europe from the 1490s on,
the military power to set up global empires and to
transport people over long distances as part of a
global slave trade.
The contemporary period - from the
1980s to the present day
Steger argues that, although globalisation has always
existed, it picked up ‘quantum’ speed from the
1980s onwards to the extent that it has resulted in
466
a 'great convergence’ in which ‘different and widely
spaced people and social connections are coming
together more rapidly than ever before’ The reasons
why globalisation has accelerated since the 1980s -
particularly the development of digital technology - will
be discussed in more detail in the rest of this chapter.
However, it is important to acknowledge that
globalisation is not a single process. It is therefore
vital to examine its different dimensions in order to
understand that it is, in Steger's words, 'an intricate
tapestry of overlapping shapes and colours’ Steger
warns that we must resist the temptation to reduce
globalisation to one single or overwhelmingly crucial
feature.
Key terms
Globalisation The trend of increasing interaction
between societies and individuals on a worldwide
scale due to advances in transportation and
communication technology.
Globality A social condition characterised by tight
economic, political, cultural and environmental
interconnectedness and flows underpinned by
technological innovation that have rendered most
national borders and boundaries irrelevant.
Global imagining People’s growing consciousness
that they share a common global culture or that
they share common interests with their neighbours
in the global village.
Glocalisation A combination of the words
‘globalisation’ and ‘localisation’, used to describe
a product or service that is developed and
distributed globally, but is also adjusted to
accommodate the user or consumer in a local
market. The term is also used more generally
as a hybrid fusing of the global and local, as in
‘Bollywood’.
Conglomerates A corporation composed of a
collection of companies which have been brought
together by mergers and takeovers.
Micro-level Processes that occur at the level of
individuals.
Space-time compression A term invented by
David Harvey that refers to a set of processes that
impact time and space, that is, they cause the
relative distances between places as measured in
terms of travel time or cost to shrink so that the
world seems to be a much smaller place.
Macro-level Processes that happen at a societal
or structural level.

Summary
1. Globalisation is a complex process that is often
over-simplified.
2. The most effective way to define globalisation
is that it reflects the growing interdependency
of world society and/or the increasing
interconnectedness of societies which are usually
separated by geographical distance, time zones
and very different cultures.
3. Steger suggests that globalisation is made
up of three processes: globality, the global
imagination and glocalisation.
4. It is important to understand that globalisation
is not a new process but that it has accelerated
at an incredible speed in the last couple of
decades.
Unit 0.1.2 The significance of
different dimensions
of globalisation
In the previous unit we examined the historical
dimension of globalisation. We now briefly examine
the other five dimensions: the technological,
economic, cultural, political (sometimes referred to
as the ‘ideological’) and the moral. It is important to
understand that, although these can be examined
as separate entities, they actually overlap and are
interdependent. For example, the technological
dimension has had a considerable impact on the
economic and cultural dimensions of globalisation.
Activity
Go through Steger’s five historical periods and list
all the technological inventions and innovations
that he highlights as contributing to increased
globalisation.
The technological dimension
of globalisation
Although there have been numerous technological
innovations that have contributed to increased
globalisation, five related technological creations
since the late 1980s have probably made the
greatest contribution to globality, the global
8.1 PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBALISATION
imagination and the formation of the local-global
nexus known as glocalisation. These technologies
more than any other have transformed our concept
of time and space.
First, in 1989 Tim Berners-Lee created and
developed the World Wide Web or internet - a global
network of connected computers which transfers
information around the world in seconds. The
internet allows users to access websites - a collection
of pages of multimedia content - located under a
single domain name. Internet technology has rapidly
developed in the last decade as related technological
innovations have been harnessed to its use, including
search engines, browsers, broadband, cloud storage
and social media platforms.
Second, the development of digital technology means
that all information, regardless of format (for example,
images, text and sound), is now converted into
binary code that can be transmitted instantaneously
along the information superhighway of the internet.
Digitalisation allows information to be delivered across
a range of media platforms that were once separate
and unconnected technologies. It is now possible to
watch television and films, take photographs, consult
maps and use GPS, download and listen to music,
play games, send texts and emails, and upload
photographs, videos and comments to social network
and sharing sites on one device.
Third, the rapid evolution of microchip-based
microprocessor computer technology means that
digital computers are getting smaller and are
therefore perfectly suited to practical domestic use.
This has resulted in the sales of laptop or notebook
computers exceeding those of desktop computers.
For example, nearly three out of four computers sold
worldwide in 2018 were laptops or tablets.
Four, a new breed of mobile phone - the
■
smartphone - appeared in the early 21 st century. This
mass communications device is essentially a handheld
personal computer supported by broadband and/or
Wi-Fi which can connect to the internet and email. The
Pew Research Center reported in 2017 that about
three-quarters of US adults (77 per cent) say they own
a smartphone, up from 35 per cent in 2011, making
the smartphone one of the most quickly adopted
consumer technologies in recent history. Smartphone
ownership is more common among those who are
younger or more affluent. For example, 92 per cent
of 18- to 29-year-olds say they own a smartphone,
compared with 42 per cent of those aged 65 and
older. Interestingly, these devices are less likely to be
used for talking or texting. American adults report that
467
8 GLOBALISATION
they mainly use smartphones to shop and to access
the internet, especially social media platforms such as
Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter. However,
although smartphone ownership is climbing in less
industrialised nations, a digital divide still remains.
Over a third of people in less industrialised nations
owned a smartphone according to a Pew survey carried
out in 2015, but more industrialised economies have
considerably higher rates of smartphone adoption and
use. For example, the highest rates of smartphone use
were found in South Korea, Sweden, Australia, the
Netherlands, Spain and the USA.
Fifth, smartphone technology can now also be found
in televisions. Smart televisions are the result of
technological convergence between computers and
flatscreen televisions. Internet access is integrated into
the device, which can be used to access social media
apps, terrestrial domestic as well as global satellite TV
channels, and streaming services such as Netflix.
Steger argues that these technological innovations
have contributed to globalisation in the
following ways;
) They have created new social networks.
» They have multiplied existing connections that cut
across traditional political, economic, cultural and
geographical boundaries.
» They have expanded and stretched social relations,
activities and connections, especially in the
economic and cultural dimensions.
» They have intensified and accelerated social
exchanges and activities, especially communication
power, and in so doing have created what Manuel
Castells (2009) calls 'a global network 500161/.
Consequently Steger concludes that globalisation is
'about growing worldwide interconnectivity’. He notes
too that it involves 'both the macro-structures of a
global community and the micro-structures of "global
personhood’” or identity.
468
Examine the statement by Steger shown here and
answer the questions that follow it.
‘If we asked ordinary citizens on the busy streets
of global cities like New York, Shanghai, or
Sydney about the essence of globalisation, their
answers would probably involve some reference
to growing forms of economic connectivity fuelled
by digital technologies. People might point to
their mobile devices such as Cloud-connected
smart wireless phones like the popular iPhone and
tablets linked to powerful internet search engines
like Google Chrome that sort in a split second
through gigantic data sets. Or they might mention
accessible video-postings on YouTube; ubiquitous
social networking sites like Instagram, Facebook
and Twitter; the rapidly expanding blogosphere,
satellite - and computer-connected HDTVs
and Netflix movie streaming and interactive
3-D computer and video games.’
Using the list in this quote, design a
questionnaire aimed at a reasonably
manageable sample of people in your school
or college - say 20-30 individuals. The first
question should be an open question asking,
‘What sorts of examples would you use to
support the view that the society in which you
live has become globalised?’ They might, for
example, cite global market brands or the
fact that in the city or town in which they live
there is a McDonald’s or Starbucks. Follow this
open question with closed questions based
on whether they use the sorts of technologies
mentioned by Steger in the extract. Then ask
questions about what countries they have visited
as tourists, and what global tastes they have
in popular music, film and television. Ask them
whether they like and enjoy food or drink that
originates from outside their culture and society.
Conclude by asking them whether they consider
themselves global citizens of the world.
Discuss the results as a class. Were they expected
or unexpected?
 8.1 PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBALISATION

The economic dimension Activity

of globalisation Ask your teacher to pin up a map of the world on
There has been a rapid intensification of your classroom wall. Stick pins in those countries
international trade and investment in the past people in your class have visited, to ascertain the
30 years and as a result distinct national or local extent of your global footprint.
economies have dissolved into a global free-trade
globalisation, but one that has been woefully
and market economy. Countries have become
under-appreciated, has been containerisation. He
economically interdependent because of the
argues that container shipping has developed over
expansion of international trade, the development
the last 50 years into a huge industry that has
of 24-hour global financial trading markets and
transformed economic geography, slashed
the global dominance of the so-called ‘three sisters
transportation costs and reshaped the global flow
of trade’; the World Trade Organization (WTO),
of trade in manufactured commodities. Levinson
the World Bank and the International Monetary
puts it more bluntly when he claims in the subtitle
Fund (IMF). Moreover, global trade has led to the
of his book that the shipping container made the
emergence of transnational corporations (TNCs),
world smaller and the world economy bigger. For
which have created an international division of
example, containerisation is responsible for the
labour by situating their manufacturing plants in
transportation across the world of roughly 90 per
different locations across the globe, by transferring
cent of manufactured goods.
money, technology and raw materials across
national borders and by creating global markets and
consumers for their products. TNCs dominate the Activity
fields of manufacturing, oil exploration, chemical and
arms production, finance, popular culture and digital
technology. Marxists claim that the overriding aim
of such TNCs is to maximise profit by systematically
exploiting global workers and consumers wherever
they are situated in the world. Many TNCs are more
economically powerful than individual countries, and
consequently they wield disproportionate bargaining
power over local economies, governments and labour
forces. For example, of the 100 richest ‘economies’
in the world in 2018, 51 are TNCs and only 49 are The container terminal in Rotterdam, the largest
actual countries. port in Europe, which serves a hinterland of
40000000 consumers.
Two examples of economic globalisation which are
worth highlighting are: Can you think of ways in which containerisation
might be useful for global criminals?
» Tourism, which has been dramatically boosted by
technological developments in air travel such as the
creation of jumbo jets like the Airbus A380 and There is no doubt that the development of an
Boeing’s Dreamliner. Air travel has also dropped in increasingly unified global economy is having
cost as budget airlines have flourished. In 2017, effects on domestic economies. Decisions made in
according to the World Tourism Organization, 1322 one society about lifestyle preferences and leisure
million people were recorded as arriving in a country pursuits can cause problems such as unemployment,
from abroad because of tourism. This was worth debt and the loss of livelihoods for workers and
nearly S1,000 billion in 2017, making tourism one farmers thousands of miles away. Zygmunt Bauman
of the world’s largest industries. In 2017, the Middle (2007) observed that ‘on a planet open to the free
East and Asia had the greatest growth of tourists. circulation of capital, and commodities, whatever
Europe still has the greatest number of tourists - happens in one place has a bearing on how people in
nearly 671 million in 2017. all other places live, hope or expect to live... Nothing
> Containerisation. Marc Levinson (2016) argues that is truly, or can remain for long, indifferent to anything
the most significant influence on economic else - untouched and untouching’.

469
 8 GLOBALISATION

The cultural dimension of globalisation

Cultural globalisation refers to the rapid movement
of ideas, attitudes, meanings, values and cultural
products across national borders. It refers specifically
to the idea that there is now a global common
culture transmitted and reinforced by the internet,
popular entertainment media, transnational
marketing of particular brands and international
travel and tourism that goes beyond local cultural
traditions and lifestyles. Sociologists cannot agree on
whether cultural globalisation positively or negatively
shapes the identities, perceptions, aspirations, tastes
and everyday activities of young people, wherever in
the world they may live.
It is argued that culture has become globalised as
ownership and control of the world’s media, internet
providers and websites have become increasingly
concentrated in the hands of fewer transnational
corporations. Cultural products such as films,
television, music, designer fashion, news, social
networking sites, food, drink, brands and sport are
primarily developed and manufactured for global
consumption. This means that the populations of
diverse societies now encounter and consume the I
same sorts of cultural products. Despite huge
differences in distance, upbringing and social context,
many of us now listen to the same popular music,
read the same books and watch the same films,
television programmes and sports.
.

Activity
Make a list of sports that are global because
countries worldwide annually host key events or
competitions in that sport.

It is argued that global cultural icons such as pop

stars BeyoncS, Jay-Z, Madonna, Kanye West and One
Direction; global sport stars such as Cristiano
Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kobe Bryant, Sachin
Tendulkar, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams; and
Hollywood and Bollywood film stars are important
global role models in that they export aspects of
their home culture to their foreign fans, who read
about their lifestyles as well as sometimes engaging
in cultural appropriation - they may adopt aspects of
other cultures such as tattoos, dress codes, jewellery
and incorporate them into their own lifestyles,
producing a popular hybridised culture that fans
worldwide can tap into.
Cultural globalisation has allegedly increased
interconnectedness among different populations
and cultures. For example, food is an important part
of cultural experience. Most societies around the
world have diets which are unique to them. However,
the cultural globalisation of food and diet has
been particularly promoted by American fast-food
transnationals such as McDonald’s, Burger King and
KFC. It can be argued that the 35 000 McDonald’s
restaurants that operated in 118 countries in 2015
have had a global effect on local diets and eating
habits. Moreover, many global cities such as London,

470

New York and Tokyo have restaurants that specialise
in Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Indian and Thai cuisine.
Activity
Either survey your classmates to find out whether
they have global tastes in food and drink, or, if it
is safe, walk around your city or town centre or
local neighbourhood in order to list restaurants or
takeaways that specialise in food that originates
outside the society in which you live.
The political or ideological dimension
of globalisation
It is claimed that political globalisation is increasingly
extending beyond local politics. Until the end of
World War II, the governments of nation-states were
traditionally responsible for maintaining the human
rights, security and economic welfare of their citizens.
However, many countries are joining and becoming
actively involved in global political institutions such as
the United Nations, NATO, the European Community
and the G7. In turn, these global organisations shape
and influence domestic political policies.
Politics is also intertwined with economic
globalisation. For example, both the World Bank
and IMF often lend money to individual countries on
the condition that they adopt a neoliberal economic
approach to free trade. This often involves these
global political institutions insisting that, in return for
aid, less industrialised countries should ‘reform’ their
economies so that trade and banking is deregulated
and public spending on, say, health or welfare is
reduced and/or that state-owned agencies and
services are privatised by being sold off to TNCs.
The moral dimension of globalisation
Bauman argued that on a planet criss-crossed by
'information highways’, everything that happens in
any part of the world is eventually known. Bauman
observed that the human misery associated with
distant places and remote ways of life are vividly
brought into our homes by a global news media.
He argued that in the global world, global inequality
and the humiliation and injustice it brings are now
very visible via digital technology. Moreover, he
argued that the well-being of one place can ever
be innocent of the misfortune of another. As Milan
Kundera (2004) observes, 'there is nowhere one can
escape to in a globalized society’.
8.1 PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBALISATION
Bauman argued that globalisation brings with it
increased risk. Global risks have evolved in the sense
that the world increasingly shares the same global
problems such as disease, terrorism, crime, climate
change and environmental degradation, which
increasingly emanate from the same global sources.
Activity
jt
m - i
li
m
■ i
um
itabbfrtbl
Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Research the true story of the world’s worst nuclear
disaster, which occurred at Chernobyl on 26 April
1986 - at the time Chernobyl was in the USSR.
What global effects did this disaster have?
Moreover, Bauman argued that global inequalities in
wealth, income and life chances are likely to worsen
the risks faced by the global population by increasing
the fears, tensions and uncertainties of those trapped
at the bottom of the global stratification system.
He claimed that economic globalisation leads to
unregulated markets that further widen inequality
and the sense of hostility and grievance felt by those
who go without across the world. This is a recipe
for planetary lawlessness, which is then used by
the powerful as another excuse for greater levels
of surveillance, control and repression of powerless
groups. Bauman also predicted the rise of fascist and
racist movements, nationalism, populism, religious
fanaticism and terrorism.
There is evidence that globalisation has produced
a new set of shared moral problems and fears. For
example, it has produced geo-political tensions
between the USA and North Korea and, according
to Samuel Huntington (2002), between the Christian
and Muslim worlds. It has also led to the rise of
right-wing nationalism in several European countries,
especially Austria, Hungary, Poland and Italy, that
have come to power because of popular fears about
migrants and refugees. All of these countries have
471
 8 GLOBALISATION
introduced tougher immigration policies and have
seen significant rises in racist hate crimes.
Like Bauman, Michael Ignatieff (2017) believes that
there is a need for a form of moral globalisation in an
increasingly divided world, within which global citizens
speak the same ethical language when confronting
i and multicultural understanding envisaged by those
global ethical issues such as the behaviour of TNCs,
corruption, public trust, tolerance, multicultural cities,
reconciliation after war and conflict, and resilience in
times of uncertainty and danger.
Examples of global morality can be found in the rise
of global social protest movements, such as Amnesty
International and Greenpeace, which aim to protect
human rights and the environment respectively.
In addition, an anti-capitalist global movement
has developed symbolised by protests outside G7
conferences as well as the Occupy and Anonymous
campaigns. These have used global communication
systems to form alliances with activists in other
countries to protest against the poverty, inequality,
greed and corporate tax evasion they associate with
global capitalism.
Globalisation has also led to the rise of social and
political movements which are critical of capitalism,
such as the radical Syriza government elected in
Greece in 2015. Finally, there are signs that
globalisation is being blamed by those suffering
long-term unemployment and wage stagnation in
both the USA and Europe.
Summary
There are five important interdependent
dimensions of globalisation: the technological,
economic, cultural, political and moral.
Unit 8.1.3 Theories of globalisation
Sociologists disagree about the effects of
globalisation. Some sociologists argue that
globalisation is a fact of life, and therefore
irreversible. Optimistic globalists believe this to
be a good thing, because they believe that this will
eventually break down barriers between societies
and promote greater tolerance and understanding.
In contrast, critical sociologists believe that
globalisation simply promotes economic and cultural
forms of imperialism and therefore poverty, inequality
and potential conflict between religions and cultures.
Some perceive globalisation to be a threat to
472
traditional ways of life which have been in place for
centuries. They are, therefore, very pessimistic about
globalisation, which they predict will inevitably lead
to dystopia - that is, a world full of risks and conflict.
This is in contrast to the utopia of human rights,
universal access to education and communications,
who see globalisation as a positive process.
Activity
Explain why the civil war in Syria is often referred
to as 'the world’s war’. Think about how many
nation-states are involved in the war either directly
or indirectly. Think, too, about the geographical
origins of the foreign fighters who volunteered to
fight for Islamic State.
Globalist theories of globalisation
Globalists are sociologists who believe that
globalisation is a fact which is having real
consequences for the way that people and
organisations operate across the world. However,
globalists are not united on the consequences
of such a process. Some globalists - the
hyper-globalists - see the process of globalisation
as a positive phenomenon, while the pessimists
or sceptics see globalisation as a type of cultural
imperialism that is generally having a negative effect
on the local cultures of less industrialised societies.
Hyper-globalism
Hyper-globalists (sometimes called optimists or
positive globalists) welcome globalisation because
they believe that it will eventually produce tolerant
and responsible world citizens. Amartya Sen (2002)
suggests that globalisation represents hope for
all humanity because it will produce a universal
techno-scientific culture which will liberate people
from poverty. Mario Vargas Llosa (2000) suggests
that much war and conflict is caused by local cultural
differences. Therefore, the quicker that local cultures
merge into a single global culture the better.
Neoliberals such as Thomas Friedman (2000) argue
that globalisation has occurred as a result of the
global adoption of neoliberal economic policies. He
identifies a neoliberal economic set of principles that
he calls the ‘golden straitjacket’, which he argues
all countries need to fit into if they are to achieve
success in the global economy. These principles
include the privatisation of state-owned enterprises
and pensions, the maintenance of low inflation, a
 8.1 PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBALISATION

reduction in the size of government bureaucracy,

the liberalisation of trade and investment and the
reduction of corruption. He argues that this golden
straitjacket is 'pretty much "one-size fits all"...it is not
always pretty or gentle or comfortable. But it’s here
and it’s the only model on the rack this historical
season’ (quoted on p. 21 of Ha-Joon Chang (2008)).
Friedman claims that the globalised world economy
is the result of the fact that, since the 1980s, most
countries have adopted similar economic policies
focused on deregulation, privatisation and the opening
up of free trade and investment. These countries were
often shepherded onto the 'right' economic path by the
'good Samaritans’ of Western governments, especially
the USA and the ‘three sisters of free trade’. Friedman
argues that the world is now in a golden age of Sri Lankan soft drinks and coconut water compete
prosperity and predicts that this will eventually see the with international brands.
end of problems such as world poverty. What examples of competing international and
‘local’ brands can you think of in your own society?
Pessimistic or sceptical globalism
In contrast, pessimistic globalists, such as Jeremy US political and economic influence has been aided
Seabrook (2005), argue that globalisation is a immensely by US film and music. Where the marines,
negative phenomenon because it is essentially a form missionaries and bureaucrats failed, Charlie Chaplin,
of Western (and especially American) imperialism, Mickey Mouse and Mariah Carey have succeeded
peddling a superficial and homogeneous form of effortlessly in attracting the world to the American
popular culture and consumption. way.’ Mass advertising of Western cultural icons
such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola has resulted in
Seabrook argues that, by definition, globalisation
their logos becoming powerful symbols to people,
makes all other cultures local and, by implication,
especially young people, in the less industrialised
inferior. He suggests that globalisation implies a
world, because they imply that they need to adopt
superior, civilised mode of living - it implicitly
Western consumer lifestyles in order to modernise.
promises that it is the sole pathway to universal
prosperity and security - consequently diminishing It is argued that cultural globalisation may,
and marginalising local cultures. Seabrook suggests therefore, eventually undermine and even
that globalisation sweeps aside the multiple destroy rich local cultures and identities. Ben
meanings that human societies and cultures have Barber (2003) feared that the globalised world
derived from or imposed upon their environment. He is turning into a ‘McWorld’, in which all cultures
argues that integration into a single global economy and consumption will be standardised. Other
is a ‘declaration of cultural war’ upon other cultures commentators have expressed similar anxieties
and societies and that it often results in profound about the ‘coca-colonisation’ or ‘Disneyfication’
and painful social and religious disruption. of the developing world. In his critique of cultural
globalisation, Seabrook suggests that ‘it is not only
Many pessimistic globalists argue that
the economies of countries that are reshaped, but
Westernisation or Americanisation has been mistaken
also the minds and sensibility of the people. Their
for globalisation. These sociologists are concerned
value systems are re-formed in the image of the
about the concentration of the world’s media in the
global market.’ This cultural change is interpreted
hands of a few powerful American and Japanese
by some sections of developing nations as a form
TNCs. It is argued that these TNCs disseminate
of cultural imperialism - an attempt by the West to
primarily Western, and especially American, forms of
spread its supremacy - as a colonialism of the mind.
popular culture. There have been concerns that these
cultural products reflect a cultural imperialism that Seabrook argues that the principal response of
results in the marginalisation of local culture. Peter most world leaders to globalisation has been one
Steven (2004) argues that, ‘for the past century, of fatalism. They imply that the world is simply

473
 8 GLOBALISATION
powerless to resist globalisation, which is presented
as inevitable and irreversible. Seabrook argues that
most leaders of the industrialised world take this
position because they are experiencing an ‘impotence
of convenience’ - their confessed powerlessness
disguises the fact that the forces of globalisation
economically advantage their countries and their
economic elites.
Marxist theories of globalisation
Marxists do not believe that globalisation is a new
phenomenon. Harvey (2011), for example, points
out that capitalism has been an international
phenomenon for hundreds of years. All we are
experiencing at the moment is a continuation, or
evolution, of the Western or American-dominated
form of capitalist production and trade, as the logic
of capitalism propels manufacturing and marketing
to seek greater profits in the global arena. In his
world-systems theory, Immanuel Wallerstein (2011)
argues that globalisation has always been an
important part of the way that capitalism organises
itself. He argues that capitalism is responsible for
creating a ‘world order’ or world system because
capital from its very beginning has ignored national
borders in its search for profit. In particular,
Wallerstein observes that this world capitalist system
is organised around an international division of
labour consisting of three levels of exploitation.
The ‘core’ or more industrialised countries control
world trade and monopolise the production of
manufactured goods. The ‘semi-peripheral’ zone
includes what Jim O’Neill (2001) dubbed the BRIC
countries - the fastest-growing market economies
such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, which
resemble the core countries in terms of their urban
centres but also contain extremes of rural poverty.
Countries in the semi-periphery are often connected
to the core because the latter contract work out
to them. For example, most Apple products are
manufactured in China. The third tier of this capitalist
global system is composed of countries that make
up what Wallerstein calls the ‘peripheral’ sector - for
example, much of Africa. These countries mainly
supply minerals and cash crops to the core and
semi-periphery, and are the emerging markets in
which the core countries market manufactured goods
such as cigarettes and mobile phones.
Wallerstein goes on to suggest that this global
capitalist system is constantly evolving in its search
for profit. The signs of this are:
474
) constant commodification (attaching a price
to everything)
» de-skilling (the breaking down of complex skills into
simple repetitive skills in order to pay people less)
» mechanisation, such as robot computerised
technology.
Wallerstein argues that these processes, too, are
becoming globalised and predicts that in the long
term they will generate so many dispossessed,
excluded, marginal and poor people who will unite
in a global revolutionary movement that they will
transform the global capitalist system into a more
just socialist world economy.
Evaluation of Marxist theories
of globalisation
The main problem with Wallerstein’s theory of global
capitalism, as with Marxism generally, is that it is
guilty of economic reductionism. It assumes that the
economy is driving all other aspects of the system
(politics, culture and so on). Albert Bergesen (1990)
argues that political influences in the form of military
conquest were more important than the logic of
capitalism in bringing about globalisation.
However, despite these criticisms, Wallerstein’s work
was one of the first to acknowledge the ‘globalisation’
of the world (although he himself never uses the
term). He draws attention to the international
division of labour, which some see as the main source
of global inequality. Lately, however, sociologists
working from a globalisation perspective have noted
that relationships within the world system are far
from one-way. Economic interdependence can also
mean that problems in the less industrialised world
(such as financial crises caused by debt) can have a
negative ripple effect on both the industrialised and
less industrialised economies that make up the global
capitalist system. For example, a financial crisis in
South Korea in 1997 led to the car manufacturer
Nissan-Hyundai making British workers redundant.
Feminist theories of globalisation
Serena Parekh and Shelley Wilcox (2014) argue that
economic globalisation must also be understood in
terms of the effects it has had on women, who make
up a disproportionate percentage of the global poor.
Feminists tend to argue that these effects have been
primarily negative for women. Feminists point out
that globalisation has promised many things that are

crucial to feminists: peace, prosperity, social justice,
environmental protection, the elimination of racism
and ethnocentrism and, of course, an increase in the
status of women. However, economic and political
globalisation have actually created the conditions
for war and increased militarism, increased the gap
between the rich and the poor and created a system
that is hostile or antagonistic towards women.
Parekh and Wilcox argue that there are four
key features shared by feminist approaches to
globalisation.
First, early feminist analyses focused on issues that
were widely believed to be of particular importance
to women around the world, such as domestic
violence, workplace discrimination and human rights
violations against women. However, some feminists
criticise this approach as too narrow because they
argue that even apparently gender-neutral global
issues often have a gendered dimension, including
war, global governance, migration, southern debt and
climate change.
Second, radical feminists have particularly focused
on women’s global subordination especially with
regard to the gendered harms involved in sexual
slavery, forced domestic labour, and the systematic
withholding of education, food and healthcare from
women and girls that follow from societies in which
most live in poverty.
Third, intersectional feminists believe that attention
needs to be paid to how patriarchal systems of
oppression and injustice interact with other forms of
oppression such as race, ethnicity, nationality, social
class and sexuality to produce global disadvantage.
Fourth, feminist critiques of globalisation are
committed to avoiding ethnocentrism, especially
the idea that feminist ideas and the experiences of
women worldwide are universal. They acknowledge
that feminist ideas from Western cultures have been
unfairly imposed on women from less industrialised
countries. Feminism also recognises the role that
women played as part of the colonial oppression
of indigenous peoples. For example, Frances
Kaye (2017) observes that ‘in terms of working
with the Indians, as missionaries, as matrons, as
schoolteachers, White women got a lot of power
out of the disempowering of native people. That’s
not something you can be happy about...if we don’t
recognise that then we’re still justifying imperialism
and colonialism.’
8.1 PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBALISATION
Transformationalist and postmodernist
theories of globalisation
Transformationalists agree with sceptics that the
impact of globalisation has been exaggerated
by globalists, but argue that it is foolish to reject
the concept out of hand. This theoretical position
argues that globalisation should be understood
as a complex set of interconnecting relationships
through which power, for the most part, is exercised
indirectly. They suggest that the globalisation process
can be reversed, especially where it is negative or, at
the very least, that it can be controlled.
Transformationalists are particularly critical of
the cultural-imperialist globalisation argument for
three reasons:
1. These arguments make the mistake of suggesting
that the flow of culture is one-way only - from the
West to the less industrialised world. This focus fails
to acknowledge how Western culture is enriched by
inputs from other world cultures and religions.
2. It underestimates the strength of local culture.
As Cohen and Kennedy (201 2) observe: ‘People in
Lagos or Kuala Lumpur may drink Coke, wear Levi
jeans and listen to North American pop artists, but
that does not mean they are about to abandon
their customs, family and religious obligations or
national identities wholesale, even if they could
afford to do so, which most cannot’.
Roland Robertson (1992) argues that local
cultures are not swallowed up by global or
Western culture. Like Steger, Robertson
emphasises the concept of ^localisation’ and
notes that the global and the local can work well
together. He argues that local people tend to
select only what pleases them from the global,
which they modify and adapt to local culture and
needs. Cohen and Kennedy also argue that the
local ‘captures’ the global influence and turns it
into a form compatible with local tastes. They
refer to this process as ‘indigenisation’. A good
example of this is the Indian film industry -
‘Bollywood’ combines contemporary Western
ideas about entertainment with traditional Hindu
myth, history and culture. There is evidence that
this glocalisation or indigenisation eventually
leads to hybridisation - for example, some world
music fuses and mixes Western dance beats with
traditional styles from North Africa and Asia.
475
S GLOBALISATION
Activity
/.* f ubiquity of Western and especially American
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3?
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The popularity of Bollywood films extends well
beyond India.
Take a close look at the popular culture of the
society or culture to which you belong, and debate
with your classmates whether young people in your
society are adopting glocalised forms of leisure.
3. Transformationalists and postmodernists also
see the global media as beneficial phenomena
because they are primarily responsible for diffusing
different cultural styles around the world and
creating new global hybrid styles in fashion, food,
music, consumption and lifestyle. It is argued that
in the postmodern world such cultural diversity
and pluralism will become the global norm.
Postmodernists, therefore, see globalisation as a
positive phenomenon because it has created a new
class of global consumers, in both the industrialised
and less industrialised world, with a greater
range of choices from which they can construct a
hybridised global identity.
Key terms
Globalists Sociologists who believe that
globalisation has had significant and real effects
on the world, although they may disagree as to
whether these effects are positive or negative.
Hyper-globalists Sociologists who are optimistic
and positive about the effects of globalisation.
476
Cultural imperialism The process and practice
of promoting one culture over another. Many
sociologists see it as the consequence of the
cultural products.
BRIC An acronym for the fast-growing economies
of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Indigenisation The action or process of bringing
something under the control, dominance, or
influence of the people native to an area.
Summary
1. Some sociological theories welcome globalisation
and believe that it will eventually promote
tolerance, reduce inequality and promote the
‘one world federation’ approach we see portrayed
in science fiction films such as Star Trek.
2. Other sociologists, however, claim that
globalisation will never produce a global
consciousness because it is not truly global.
Rather, globalisation is really Westernisation
or Americanisation disguised as globalisation.
Consequently, it is argued that it functions like
an ‘evil empire’ destroying local cultures and
foisting its imperial value system in the form
of Western popular and secular culture on
traditional societies.
3. Marxists believe that globalisation is just another
means by which the capitalist system has
extended its reach in order to exploit the labour
power and markets of less industrialised societies
and thus increase global inequalities in wealth.
4. Feminist theory points out that globalisation
has probably reinforced patriarchy and gender
inequality rather than reduced these types of
oppression.
5. Transformationalists and postmodernists argue
that globalisation has increased the potential
for the social interaction of people from very
different cultures and has encouraged cultural
exchanges that have produced glocalised and
hybrid responses to globalisation.

END-OF-PART QUESTIONS
oTT Describe two ways in which technology has contributed to globalisation.
roiT] Explain one positive and one negative effect of globalisation.
roTTI Explain two reasons why transformationalists are positive about globalisation.
ART 2 GLOBALISATION AND IDENTITY
Contents
Unit 8.2.1 The impact of globalisation on
identity 478
Unit 8.2.2 Cultural convergence versus cultural
divergence 484
Unit 8.2.3 The role of Western ideology in
shaping identity and the concept
of Westernisation 490
This part will explore the impact of globalisation,
especially in the form of global social media on
personal, social and cultural identity. In particular,
it will examine how personal identity has been
transformed by globalisation. It also considers
three social reactions to globalisation: ethnic
revitalisation, cultural defence and hybridisation.
An important question that needs to be asked
is whether globalisation makes people around
the world more alike or more different. Steger
observes that pessimistic globalists suggest
that globalisation is resulting in a convergence
of cultures and that we are witnessing ‘the
rise of an increasingly homogenized popular
culture’: ‘As evidence for their interpretation,
these commentators point to Amazonian Indians
wearing Nike sneakers; denizens of the Southern
Sahara purchasing Yankees baseball caps; and
Palestinian youths proudly displaying their Golden
State Warriors basketball singlets in downtime
Ramallah.’ However, critics of this view argue
that globalisation has actually produced cultural
divergence or, in Steger’s words, ‘a cultural
rainbow that reflects the diversity of the world’s
8.2 GLOBALISATION AND IDENTITY
[4 marks]
[6 marks]
[8 marks]
existing populations’. Bauman argued that some
cultures and religions have seen globalisation as
convergence and interpreted this as an attack
on, or at least a threat to, their traditional way of
life. These cultures have reacted in a ‘defensive
aggressive’ way to this perceived danger by
adopting fundamentalist beliefs and employing
terror as a strategy of resistance to globalisation.
A third way of approaching and interpreting
the influence of globalisation is to analyse what
Steger calls the ‘global-local nexus’ to see how
globalisation has both responded, and adapted
itself, to local needs and sensibilities. Such an
analysis has seen the emergence of hybridised
forms of local culture in which local services and
consumers have borrowed aspects of globalisation
and converted them to local use.
Finally, we need to examine the claim that what
some theorists refer to as ‘globalisation’ is
best understood as a form of Westernisation or
Americanisation. For example, Marxists such as
Wallerstein argue that globalisation is merely
an extension of the Western capitalist quest for
profit into new territories. Additionally, there is no
doubt that many developing societies have seen
globalisation as a smokescreen for the imperialist
ambitions of Western governments. Certainly,
Islamist movements such as al-Qaeda and ISIS
seem to view globalisation as merely a means
through which decadent Western values infect
young Muslims. The Islamic Republic of Iran has
actively sought to reduce the impact of Western
values on Iranian young people by banning
Western pop music and movies.
477
 B GLOBALISATION
Unit 8.2.1 The impact of
globalisation on identity
Until the digital revolution of the 1990s, social
networks generally involved people - friends, family
or work colleagues - making the effort to physically
meet face to face, to write letters or talk on the
telephone. However, it can be argued that digital
technology, particularly texting, email and the rapid
and global spread of social media platforms such as
Facebook and Twitter, have radically transformed the
ways in which we communicate and interact with one
another today.
The growth of social media
The computer-digital age has produced virtual
communities in which globally dispersed people
with common interests are no longer constrained by
geographical distance or time zones. The existence of
the internet and its diversity of websites, newsgroups,
discussion boards, social networking platforms and
so on, as well as email and video applications such as
Skype, has produced instant interaction and sharing
at any time and from any place. It can, therefore, be
argued that global social network platforms such as
Facebook have replaced local institutions such as
the family, the educational system, the workplace,
religion and old media such as newspapers and
television as the most important infrastructure
through which people organise their lives, interact
with others, construct and project their identity and
exchange social capital in the 21 st century.
Castells argues that digital networks and social
platforms have dramatically changed the nature of
social networking in the 21st century. In particular,
Facebook has become the major agency for
packaging, promoting and presenting the self for
public consumption. In January 2017, 1.86 billion
people - 96 per cent of all adults online worldwide -
registered with Facebook. People, especially those
who belong to the millennial generation, use
Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram, WeChat
and Sina Weibo to engage in what Castells calls
'mass self-communication’. This has transformed
our traditionally subjective interpretation of personal
identity or self into a social product which we project
into cyberspace in return for mass admiration and
social approval. According to Sherry Turkle (2016),
internet-based social networks free people of the
478
| burdens of their physical identities and allow them to
present ‘better’ and 'more attractive ’cyber-versions
of themselves.
Activity
Survey both your class and year group in order to
find out the extent and frequency of use of social
media platforms and social media apps among
your age group.
Globalisation, global social media and
young people’s identity
Howard Gardner and Katie Davis (2014) observe
that young people are the most frequent users
of social media. Jan Van Dijk (201 2) claims that
social network sites have replaced email and
telephone as the preferred mode of interaction for
teenagers. These observations are supported by
research carried out in 2017 by the Education Policy
Institute (EPI) which investigated internet use by
540000 young people across 35 countries. This
research found that more than one in three British
15-year-olds are ‘extreme internet users’ who spend
at least six hours a day online, markedly higher than
any other country in the study apart from Chile.
Gardner and Davis found that young people take a
great deal of care in how they present themselves
online for public consumption. They identify three
trends in this online presentation and performance
of self:
1. Many young people construct and perform a
socially desirable and polished online self which
generally exaggerates the more socially attractive
aspects of a person’s personality but downplays
less ‘cool’ traits. This generally means that a young
person’s online identity may be more outgoing and
extroverted than their everyday offline identity.
I
2. Some young people construct a range of fictitious
identities because they are performing to different
|
audiences who may have different expectations.
For example, a person may construct a Facebook
identity to attract maximum connectedness, a
Twitter identity which is ‘edgy’ in its comments
on current events, and a Reddit identity which
is deliberately provocative and aggressive in the
stance it takes on particular online debates.
3. Once the self has been constructed on a platform
such as Facebook, there is evidence that

young people then engage in constant identity
performance in that free time is mainly taken up
checking phones in order to manage the online
impressions others have of them by ‘liking’ what
others upload as well as updating their own profile
and status.
Gardner and Davis argue that there are several
advantages for young people in social networking
and constructing online relationships. For example,
accumulating connections or online relationships
may be empowering and enriching for some
because it can produce social capital - they can
make connections with others and share resources
and experiences which are of mutual benefit to all
concerned.
For example, membership of an online community
may provide opportunities for people with similar
interests to find and interact with one another.
These opportunities may produce the possibility of
benefiting from both bonding social capital’ and
‘bridging social capital’ (see Unit 2.2.3).
Sociologists such as Daniel Miller (2011) suggest that
social media platforms have a number of benefits.
For example, texting and updating one’s Facebook
page and profile may function to micro-coordinate
activity among friends and family who are physically
scattered by geographical distance. Miller observes
that Facebook extends and makes meaningful
relationships which in the pre-social media age would
have grown weaker or lapsed altogether as people
got older or moved away.
Furthermore, social media platforms may act as a
social lifeline, particularly for those who are isolated,
shy or disabled. John Bargh and Kate McKenna
(2004) found that social platforms can often help
those with low self-esteem relate to others because
social networking does not involve face-to-face
interaction.
The critique of digital social networking
However, critics of social networks suggest that
the costs of this global online revolution may
outweigh its benefits. They argue that digital forms
of communication may be dysfunctional for the
following reasons.
First, Marxists such as Christian Fuchs (2017) argue
that powerful global corporations monopolise and
control digital communication and social media and
this fact undermines the concept of a participatory
digital global culture. He argues that, as a result,
8.2 GLOBALISATION AND IDENTITY
connectedness is less important than connectivity.
Van Dijk (2012) illustrates this when he observes that
the algorithms developed by social networking sites
like Facebook for commercial reasons increasingly
determine what people like, want, know or find. The
aim of these algorithms is not to connect people but
to keep them online for as long as possible and to
maximise the possibility that they will click on and
connect to other commercial sites. Fuchs argues that
social platforms like Facebook have resulted in the
commodification of friendship and connectedness.
He argues that social media activity is not as
voluntary as users believe it to be. Algorithms
shepherd people towards making ‘choices’ that
benefit capitalist agencies such as advertisers. Social
media content may, therefore, simply reflect the
capitalist imperative to commodify and market all
aspects of social life in order to make profit.
Second, there are concerns about how the data
collected by sites such as Facebook might be used.
Facebook in particular has been accused of violating
the privacy of its users. In 2018, Facebook was
criticised for permitting a company called Cambridge
Analytica to ‘harvest’ personal data from global users
of Facebook to sell onto political parties so that they
could target political advertising at particular groups
of individuals. This example supports the Marxist
case that commodification is the major goal of social
media platforms. It is also becoming apparent to
politicians and law-makers across the world that
global social media are very difficult to police.
Third, the quality of online relationships or
‘friendships ’ has been questioned by Turkle, who
observes that people boast about how many people
they have ‘friended’ on Facebook, but research on
the nature of friendship in the USA concludes that
Americans say they have few real friends. Miller
observes that critics of Facebook suggest that
| ‘friending’ represents a ‘kind of inflation’ of superficial
and weak relationships that actually diminishes the
value of true friendship. He argues that the quality of
Facebook relationships can feel non-genuine because
they lack the intimacy, vulnerability and physical
closeness that characterise real relationships.
Gardner and Davis argue that such ‘friends’ may be
connected but they may not always be connecting.
Fourth, Turkle suggests that the way people are
mentally ‘tethered’ to their digital devices is
unhealthy. She points out that, although digital forms
of communication connect users to more people, it
has also resulted in greater anxiety. She observes
479
 S GLOBALISATION
that devotion to checking one’s mobile phone is
almost religious. When mobile phones are misplaced,
anxiety levels rise and people feel cut off from reality.
Turkle argues that young people should be described
as ‘cyborgs’ because they are always connected to
one other, regardless of where they are, via their
laptops, tablets and smartphones.
Activity
Young people using smartphones.
Interview a selection of your classmates about how
they see the differences in the quality of the friends
they come into face-to-face contact with compared
with their online friends. What are the differences
and similarities that they see or interpret?
As an additional experimental activity, on the same
day ask your classmates whether they would be
prepared to leave their phones at home for a day.
How many of them refuse? What is their excuse?
How do those who agreed feel about it? Do they
fee I anxiety because they don’t have access to their
phone? How do they feel about Turkle’s description
of them as ‘cyborgs’?
i to influence voters as well. Consequently, political
Danah Boyd (2014) argues that the constant tracking
of social media performance is particularly unhealthy
for teenagers, because it has weakened their ability
to develop an autonomous sense of self in that they
become too dependent on how other people react to
them online. Research published in 2017 suggests
the frequent use of global social media is making
children and teenagers more anxious. It found that
40 per cent of its sample reported that ‘they felt bad’
if nobody 'likes’ their selfies and 35 per cent said
their confidence was directly linked to the number
of followers they had. Jean Twenge (2017) also
argues that fear of negative reaction to their identity
performance is producing rising levels of moodiness,
anxiety, sadness and isolation among teenagers.
Boyd’s research suggests teenagers feel that their
thoughts and feelings are not real until validated
by others online. Gardner and Davis similarly argue
480
that constant self-projection and self-tracking
online reduces the time teenagers have for
self-contemplation and real-life interaction with
others. They observe that the maintenance of virtual
identities means that teenagers today are more likely
to suffer from narcissism compared with previous
generations. There is also some evidence that digital
interaction makes young people less empathetic
and possibly ‘meaner’ online than in person. Online
bullying, sexting, grooming, hate crimes and
sexual harassment are now recognised as common
problems of the digital age.
Fifth, digital technology may also be disruptive,
because it potentially reduces interaction between
family members. Turkle has argued that the
proto-communities of social network sites are
increasingly replacing real communities composed of
family, extended kin and neighbours. As a result, the
‘post-familial’ family in which family members spend
more time interacting with their gadgets than with
each other is becoming the norm.
However, not all sociologists are critical of global
social media platforms. Marxist sociologist Castells
claims that global media have helped heighten
young people’s sense of political identity by creating
a networked global society. Castells argues that
before the digital revolution of the internet, politics
involved joining vertical organisations such as a
political party or pressure group and/or reading
the products of such organisations such as political
manifestos. In addition, media organisations,
which were also vertical organisations, attempted
news or scandal travelled relatively slowly. Castells
argues that new digital media have transformed the
relationship that the electorate has with politicians
and the way that politicians behave because political
news and gossip that is instantaneously available can
ruin political careers within minutes. Moreover, these
networks are now able to highlight global political
issues such as human rights abuses that in the past
were largely invisible to people on the other side of
the world. This means that states and governments
may come under global pressure to clean up their
records on human rights, too. For example, the
leaders of Myanmar have come under considerable
global pressure to halt their persecution of the
Rohingya people in recent years.
Castells claims that the global reach of social media
has transformed the attitudes of the millennial
generation towards world politics because it has
I
given them a political voice that they never had
before. Traditionally, politics was dominated by
older privately educated and wealthy elites. Global
social media platforms have given ordinary young
people the power and confidence to be heard on
global issues such as human rights abuses, identity
politics, global injustice and inequality. In both the
USA and UK, the popularity of radical politicians such
as Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn post-2016
is very much a product of this online networking by
young people. The Black Lives Matter, MeToo, Make
Poverty History, Occupy and anti-globalisation
movements (AGMs) have all become major thorns
in the side of mainstream establishment politicians
because of the massive online support generated by
young people for these causes. The success of other
identity politics issues such as the legalisation of
same-sex marriage and the increasing pressure on
governments to recognise the rights of individuals
who identify as transsexual, intersex and non-binary
is partly the result of young people using global
media to highlight these civil rights issues. Global
social media, then, have proved extremely useful in
giving a voice to groups which were previously muted
or repressed by the powerful, such as the poor,
ethnic minorities, the LGBT community, the disabled,
and even oppressed people and tribes in remote
parts of the world.
The extent of social media’s effect
on identity
However, we have to consider that digital
communication and social media may actually have a
minimal effect on cultural identity and change for the
following reasons;
1. Some critics argue that we have entered a
‘post-truth’ age and consequently young people
may find it increasingly difficult to distinguish
between facts and opinion, and between real news
and ‘fake’ news.
2. Ellen Helpser (2017) points out that many
people across the world do not have access
to digital communications, and that the poor
lack the resources to join in with this so-called
digital revolution. Helpser refers to those who
are excluded from digital communications as a
'digital underclass*. Domestically, this group
is made up of groups that are more likely to be
unemployed, low-paid, and to have few educational
qualifications. Globally, this digital underclass is
mainly to be found in parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
8.2 GLOBALISATION AND IDENTITY
3. Luke Martell (2010) points out that there is a
growing tendency in the digital corporate world for
power to be concentrated in fewer and fewer more
powerful hands. He argues that digital technology
gives a false impression of more power being given
to a greater number of people. He suggests that
digital technology may only be a quantitative rather
than a qualitative improvement because political
information could be obtained before the internet,
although more awkwardly and slowly. Martell
concludes that, technologically, the internet is
revolutionary but that it does not necessarily follow
that it will have a revolutionary impact on cultural
or political life.
4. Some countries have taken control of digital media
in order to regulate the ability of their citizens to
access international websites. For example, China
has blocked all references to the word ‘democracy’
on its most popular search engine and denies its
citizens access to websites such as Wikipedia. All
internet use is closely monitored by the authorities.
This censorship and surveillance is referred to
colloquially as the ‘great firewall of China’.
5. Andrew Keen (2015) is also critical of the idea that
the internet and digital technology have the power
to politically change the world. He argues that the
internet is too chaotically organised to be effective
in bringing about change. Moreover, he argues that
social networking sites do not contribute to the
democratic process in any way because they are
merely vehicles for shameless self-promotion. He
further argues that the content of Twitter and blogs
often go unchecked and, consequently, uninformed
opinion, lies and trolling are the norm, rather than
considered political analysis and expertise. Dhiraj
Murthy (2018) argues, too, that the revolutionary
power of Twitter to change the world is grossly
exaggerated.
Global social media and women’s
identity
Feminist theory has traditionally focused on how
societies tend to be organised in patriarchal ways -
that is, in favour of men.
Feminists were particularly critical of old media forms
of communication such as newspapers and television,
which they saw as patriarchal agencies mainly engaged
in the symbolic annihilation of women - that is, they
tended to show women in a narrow and limited range
of social roles and suggest that their achievements are
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less important than their looks and bodies. Feminists they might occur. A good example of this online
are also critical of some online digital content, empowerment is Laura Bates’ ‘Everyday Sexism’
particularly the easy availability of pornography project, which in 2018 had more than 315 000
websites on the internet. Feminists also point out followers on Twitter and Facebook. This is a
that control of the content of new digital forms of consciousness-raising initiative encouraging women to
communication is in the hands of transnational send in everyday experiences of street harassment,
corporations such as Apple, Microsoft and Facebook, workplace discrimination and body-shaming. Helen
which are mainly owned or controlled by men. Lewis (2018) argues that the internet and social
media have lowered the barrier to women speaking
However, millennial feminists tend to more optimistic
out against sexual exploitation. Individual women who
about the power of global social media to challenge
experience sexual harassment are no longer isolated.
global patriarchy, and its potential to change women’s
They can now find each other by logging onto global
social position in society for the better. They argue
media sites which show female victims that they are
that the anonymity granted by many forms of digital
not alone and that there are many others who have
communication allows women to reach beyond their
similar stories to tell. Social networking via global
oppressed feminine identity and take on alternative
media has the potential to create alliances among
identities that avoid the negative judgements and
women that can challenge the patriarchal power
stereotypes often applied to female identity. Research
structures that still exist in many societies.
by Simon Gottschalk (2010) into how users of 3-D
virtual reality internet sites interact with other users Ariel Levy (2006) has been very critical of
and construct and present their virtual selves (known Instagram’s role in the sexualisation of culture. She
as ‘avatars’) found that users had a wide range of claims that social media encourage young women
generic images to use to construct the look or image to ‘celebrate’ their bodies by presenting themselves
of their avatar, including buff male bodies, voluptuous in ways that seek male approval. However, Levy is
female forms and asexual humanoid alternatives such criticised by Lynne Segal (2006) because she cannot
as cyborgs. Gottschalk’s research found that users decide whether to treat females who use Instagram
did not feel limited by their real gender identities as victims or as women who are ‘essentially selfish,
when choosing an avatar identity. For example, some narcissistic and predatory’.
women reported that they had deliberately chosen to
adopt male bodies in order to experience a masculine Activity
identity, while other women preferred the cyborg
identity because it was asexual or non-binary and
therefore minimised the influence of patriarchy and
sexual politics.
Moreover, Kira Cochrane (2013) has identified a
millennial feminist movement powered by global
digital technology that encourages women to build
an empowering, popular and reactive feminist
movement online. She observes that women are
using digital forms of communication to protest
about pornography, violence against women, the
sexualisation of childhood and so on. She argues
that digital technology has resulted in contemporary
Laura Bates, author of'The Everyday Sexism
young women adopting an ‘intersectional’ form of Projectin which women and girls are encouraged
feminism in which they are aware of how multiple to upload their experiences of sexism to the
oppressions - class inequality, poverty, race, age, project’s website.
sexuality, gender, ability, violence and so on - interact
to bring about misogyny and patriarchal institutions. If you have access to the internet, research feminist
websites. Write 400 words describing two or three
Some feminists now argue that digital technology and
of these, identifying their target audience and their
particularly the internet is a feminine technology that
main goals. In your opinion, how might these sites
has the potential to destabilise patriarchy because its
‘empower’ females in patriarchal and misogynistic
use allows women to explore, subvert and create new
societies?
identities and to resist sexist representations wherever

482

However, despite these advances, women who use
digital forms of communication are often subjected
to online sexism, abuse and rape and death
threats by ‘critics’ of feminism. The internet may
help disseminate feminist ideas across the world
but it also does the same for its polar opposite -
woman-hating views.
Key terms
Fundamentalist A strict, literal interpretation of
scripture in a religion.
Virtual communities An online community that
only meets in cyberspace.
Mass self-communication A type of
communication in which a user selects the group
of people symbolised by a website or online
community that they want to communicate with
and directs their message appropriately.
Social media apps Digital applications that are
designed to allow people to share digital content
quickly, efficiently and in real time.
Outgoing In terms of personality, someone who is
sociable and easy to talk to.
Identity performance A type of impression
management in which a person presents a
particular version of themselves for public
consumption - for example, on a social media
site - in order to manage other people’s opinion
about them.
Social capital The collective value of all social
networks (the value of knowing influential people),
and the obligations that arise from these networks
to do things for each other (for example, to return
a favour).
Bonding social capital The sharing of information
or resources that may create opportunities for
jobs or mutual help.
Bridging social capital Social and political
alliances or networks that increase the potential
for social change.
Commodification Applying an economic value to a
range of human activities.
Narcissism Self-obsession.
Empathetic Demonstrating the ability to
understand and share the feelings of others.
Proto-communities An early form of community.
Often used to describe online communities that
have not been established or in place for very long.
8.2 GLOBALISATION AND IDENTITY
Post-familial family A type of family that spends
its leisure time online or playing with digital
devices rather than actively spending it in each
other's company. Parents today, for example,
often Facebook their children to tell them to come
downstairs for their meals.
Networked global society The idea that people
sat at their computers are technologically linked
to a global network of hundreds of thousands of
others and consequently are potentially able to
bring about economic, social and political change.
Anti-globalisation movement (ACM) A disparate
collection of interest groups that feel that the
problems of the group they represent have been
brought about by global processes. The movement
often uses global social media to coordinate and
unify its protests against globalisation at events
where world leaders meet.
Digital underclass People who are so
disadvantaged that they cannot afford access to
digital technology such as smartphones, laptops
and broadband, ownership of which many people
take for granted.
Symbolic annihilation of women A term
invented by Tuchman that suggests that media
representations of women rarely report their
achievements or, if they do, tend to trivialise and
devalue them. Women are often reduced in the
media to being wives and girlfriends of men.
Summary
1. The emergence of global social media has
transformed the concepts of social interaction
and identity. Young people, in particular, use
global social media to engage in identity
performance and to project their identity to all
corners of the globe.
2. However, research suggests that the relationship
between global media and identity has had
some negative consequences in terms of
addiction, anxiety and trolling.
3. Young people today are more likely to have
developed a keen sense of political identity
because of the existence of a networked global
society, which means that the internet has given
them the potential to possess a political voice
that matters. Consequently, they are more likely
to be actively engaged with identity politics or
mass global political movements.
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4. Marxists argue that global social media do
not promote freedom of speech or democracy
because it’s ownership is concentrated in the
hands of a small capitalist elite who aim to
suppress criticism of capitalism.
5. Feminists have used global media to challenge
patriarchy and misogyny and to construct a
more empowered version of feminine identity.
Unit 8.2.2 Cultural convergence
versus cultural divergence
Some sociologists argue that globalisation has
led to people across the world sharing the same
cultural tastes. This argument is known as cultural
convergence (also known as homogenisation).
In contrast, other sociologists argue in favour of
cultural divergence - they claim that some cultures
react negatively to globalisation and resist it by
proclaiming their separateness from other societies
by becoming overtly nationalistic or turning back
to traditional forms of culture, especially religious
fundamentalism.
Theories of cultural convergence
and homogenisation
Martell argues that global processes are sweeping
away significant territorial boundaries and bringing
about the global homogenisation of cultural tastes. He
also argues that national economies are declining in
importance because of the free movement of capital,
the activities of transnational corporations (TNCs)
and the rise in influence of international organisations
such as the UN, the WTO, the IMF and the EU.
Moreover, the power and influence of nation-states is
fast being eroded and devalued by the speed of digital
technology, and especially the internet and social
media as well as global migration and tourism.
Convergence theory argues that globalisation has
resulted in a homogenised global culture in which
national differences have become less clear as
people consume culture from around the world
rather than just their own national cultural products.
There are three ways in which culture has become
globally homogenised:
1. The use of English as the universal language
of international business, finance, air travel
and shipping. In contrast, other languages are
484
in decline. For example, the number of spoken
languages in the world has declined from an
estimated 14 500 in 1500 to 6400 in 2016, and
it is predicted that least 50 per cent of languages
spoken in the world in 2018 will have disappeared
by the end of the 21 st century. However, there
are signs that the dominance of English is being
challenged by Spanish in the USA and that, as
China becomes more powerful, Cantonese and
Mandarin may eventually challenge English,
especially in Asia.
2. Leisure habits in many parts of the world are
increasingly shaped by a global popular culture
disseminated by global media that specialises
in distributing the same music, television, film,
computer/video games and video via social media
platforms to a global audience.
3. It is suggested that tastes in food, drink, fashion
and sport are also becoming homogenised as
global brands in fast food and sportswear, as well
as outlets for meeting friends, such as coffee
houses, spread as the companies that dominate
these markets expand across the world.
Activity
Conduct a survey among your year group to
examine whether aspects of their lives have become
homogenised. Ask them questions such as:
» whether they own sportswear such as
Manchester United, LA Laker or Barcelona tops
> whether they speak English when they are with
their friends or whether they incorporate English
phrases into conversation even when speaking in
the local language
» whether they eat global fast foods such as
burgers, pizza or chicken drumsticks, or drink
Coke and Pepsi
> whether they discuss stuff they have seen on
YouTube with their friends
* whether they buy products from Amazon or
similar global companies.
Theories of cultural divergence
However, the idea that the modern world is now
characterised by homogeneity or sameness has
been criticised by cultural divergence theory. David
Held and Anthony McGrew (2007), for example,
argue that if convergence was occurring it would

be experienced evenly by all social groups across
all societies. However, this is not the case for
four reasons:
> Trade, investment and money flows are mainly
concentrated in the ‘triad’ of Europe, Japan and
North America.
» The UN, EU or WTO rarely act independently
of or against the interests of the most powerful
nations. All of these organisations have been
accused by poorer nations of working in favour
of the economic triad of Europe, North America
and Japan.
i Globalisation has had some fairly unpleasant
side-effects that have affected poorer societies
more than wealthy ones, including the
environmental destruction of local eco-systems,
global warming - which according to some experts
is resulting in rising sea levels and flooding -
major crimes such as drug and people trafficking,
corruption, terror attacks carried out in the
name of religion, and even genocide and ethnic
cleansing.
i Convergence theory has been criticised for making
sweeping generalisations about ‘global’ processes.
Critics note that these processes do not affect all
areas of the world equally. There is considerable
evidence that some nation-states - for example,
the USA, Russia and China - continue to wield
great global power and influence. There is also
evidence that global inequality has widened.
For example, African countries have tended to
experience greater poverty as globalisation has
progressed.
On the basis of these criticisms, some sociologists
have concluded that so-called ‘global processes’
have resulted in cultural divergence rather than
convergence. This can be illustrated in five ways:
The resurgence of nationalism
According to supporters of globalisation, there
should be less nationalism as the influence of
nation-states recedes. However, there is a good case
for stating that the past 10 years has seen a steep
rise in nationalist movements - for example, in Italy,
Hungary and Poland. Britain has voted to leave
the EU. Masha Gessen (2017) claims that Russia’s
President Putin increasingly talks in increasingly
nationalistic tones about Russia’s ‘destiny’.
Sociologists have observed that nationalism is often
accompanied by a rise in racism and xenophobia
(fear of and hostility towards foreigners, especially
migrants).
8.2 GLOBALISATION AND IDENTITY
Activity
Think of three other examples from around the
world that suggest a resurgence in nationalism.
A retreat to fundamentalism
The late 20th century and early 21 st century in
particular saw a rise in religious fundamentalism
among Zionists in Israel, Hindus in India, Muslims
in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan and
Christian groups in the USA. Steger argues that
the resurgence of fundamentalism that occurred in
the 1990s and post-2000 is evidence of cultural
divergence. He argues that globalisation resulted
in a loss of traditional meaning in some cultures
which were not quite ready for such modernity.
Globalisation, therefore, created an uneasy tension
and a less stable sense of identity, place and
knowledge among some groups, who became very
attracted by the certainties offered by fundamentalist
religions.
Giddens (1999) argues that the growth of
fundamentalism is a product of and a reaction
to globalisation, which is seen by some religious
scholars, especially in Islamic societies, as a threat to
traditional beliefs and practices.
Global values and moral codes are interpreted
by fundamentalist scholars as too liberal and as
undermining traditional social norms relating to
the family, gender roles and sexuality because they
encourage equal rights for women and gay people,
free speech and the promotion of democracy.
Globalisation’s promotion of these norms and values
are regarded as threatening traditional authoritarian
power bases, especially rule by elites based on divine
right and male dominance of these societies.
Furthermore, globalisation has exposed many
traditional societies to the influence of Western
consumerism and materialism, whose ‘decadence’ or
spiritual emptiness is seen by some fundamentalist
members of less industrialised societies as a
threat to their faith and identity, and especially the
adherence of the next generation to religious rules of
lifestyle. The focus on materialism, fashion and pop
culture in Western culture is seen to be corrupt in
that it distracts young people in traditional societies
away from religion.
Giddens argues that fundamentalism is attractive to
some because its rigid dogmatic beliefs promise
certainty in an uncertain world. It is a retreat from
the ‘cosmopolitan’ (and Western) modern world, with
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 8 GLOBALISATION
its demand for rational thinking and personal choice,
into faith-based answers and submission to a higher
spiritual authority. Giddens sees fundamentalism as
the enemy of cosmopolitan thought and modernity.
Activity
Research Hindu fundamentalism in India or
Christian fundamentalism in the USA. How similar
or different are the motives for these types of
fundamentalism to the type of fundamentalism
found in some Muslim countries?
Ethnic revitalisation
James Banks (2017) argues that globalisation and
the resurgence of nationalism have led to many
nations questioning how they should deal with global
migration. In the period following World War II, many
nations were happy to accommodate immigration.
For example, after 1945 thousands of European Jews
emigrated to the USA and Israel, and in the 1950s
and 1960s the shortage of male labour in Britain led
employers to recruit hundreds of thousands of
workers from Britain’s ex-colonies in the Caribbean
and on the Indian subcontinent. As both the German
and French economies became successful in the
1960s, they recruited workers from Turkey and North
Africa respectively.
Activity
The Empire Windrush packed with West Indian
immigrants on arrival in the UK in 1948.
What actions by the UK government in relation
to the original Windrush generation have proved
controversial in recent years?
Banks argues that it was assumed that migrant
groups and their cultures would assimilate into
the wider culture of the country in which they had
486
settled, that migrants’ values and norms would
eventually become indistinguishable from those of
the dominant group. However, Banks argues that in
the 1960s marginalised racial, ethnic, and language
groups argued that they should have the right
to retain important aspects of their cultures and
languages while participating fully in the national
civic culture and community. This movement which
became known as ‘ethnic revitalisation’ demanded
that state institutions needed to be more sensitive to
the cultural identities and experiences of minorities.
Governments were encouraged to promote tolerance
and to reduce prejudice and injustice by dismantling
segregatory regulations in their education systems.
The result of these pressures was that assimilation
was widely abandoned as a policy and the notion of
multiculturalism became the norm in most modern
societies. This is the view that all the different cultural
or ethnic groups that make up a society have the
right to retain and celebrate their own religious,
historical and cultural traditions without fear or
threat from the majority group. Multicultural societies
promote the cultural needs and sensibilities of all
social groups because these are regarded as equally
important in terms of their civil and human rights.
The notion of ‘ethnic revitalisation’ has been of great
influence. In Canada in the 1980s, it very nearly led
to French Quebec declaring itself independent from
mainly English-speaking Canada. It also brought
down the apartheid regimes in Rhodesia (now
Zimbabwe) in 1980 and South Africa in 1994.
However, there have also been doubts expressed
about the effectiveness of multiculturalism in modern
societies. These are explored in detail in Part 5 of
this chapter.
Cultural defence
Migration is a very stressful experience. Burhan
Wazir (2018) argues that new arrivals tend to look
in two directions; they gaze back at their homelands,
religions, families and those they have left behind;
and they also look anxiously at the customs,
language, religions and laws of the country they have
adopted. They have to cope with a range of negative
reactions to their presence such as ‘othering’ - the
frequent reference to ‘you people’. Afua Hirsch (2018)
describes othering very succinctly as a migrant from
Ghana to the UK when she says, 'I can’t be British,
can I, if British people keep asking me where I’m
from?’ Other negative reactions to the migrant’s
presence include micro-aggressions, subtle prejudice,
 8.2 GLOBALISATION AND IDENTITY

institutional racism and open hostility, which may

show itself through racial violence and attacks.
The concept of cultural defence has mainly been
used by sociologists who are interested in how
migrant groups cope with such stress and anxiety
and to explain why they seem to be more religious
than indigenous groups. For example, Asians,
Africans and African-Caribbeans who have settled
in the USA and Europe generally tend to be more
religious in terms of both belief and practice than
most White people. Steve Bruce (2002) claims that
for many migrants religions act as a form of cultural
defence (see Unit 7.6.2). In particular, religion offers
migrants support and a sense of cultural identity
in an uncertain and possibly hostile environment.
It functions to defend and preserve culture and
language and helps newcomers to cope with threats
such as racism. James Beckford (2002) suggests that
the evangelical Christianity offered by the Baptist
and Pentecostal churches gave Black people a sense
of community, purpose, hope and independence
in countries such as Britain and the USA. Religion,
therefore, offers more than just spiritual fulfilment
to members of ethnic minorities. It has the power to
reaffirm or revitalise ethnic identity. Baptisms being performed at the Pentecostal Faith
Church of All Nations in New York, 1934.
Cultural defence can also promote ethnic
revitalisation. In the 1960s, the civil rights movement
led by a caucus of Black church organisations Pashtun tribe. When the USA toppled the Taliban, it
headed by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr installed a new Afghan government mainly made up
was instrumental in persuading the US government of the Tajik tribe (the main rival of the Pashtuns). The
to outlaw segregation in schools and other Afghan civil war continues to this day.
state institutions.
Chua argues that even President Trump’s victory in
Amy Chua (2018) argues that sociologists should 2016 can be seen as a form of ethnic revitalisation.
focus on the concept of ‘tribes’ rather than She argues that the White working-class tribe who
nation-states. Chua is not using the term ‘tribe’ in were disaffected by economic recession and the
its conventional sense. She uses it to mean ‘political USA’s industrial decline mainly voted for Trump. Their
interest group’. She argues that tribes are more likely vote was a rejection of the elite tribe - the political
than nation-states to culturally defend their interests establishment - that dominated Washington. Chua
and engage in ethnic revitalisation. She argues that argues that Trump epitomises and supercharges
most people do not simply seek to be free or to be American tribalism. With him in power, all other
rich as individuals. They actually want to thrive within American tribes - Blacks, women, Mexicans, the
their tribe while hurting other tribes. She argues LGBT community and so on - feel more threatened
that most societies contain rival competing tribes than the straight White male tribe.
which can be economic, political, religious, ethnic or
There is evidence that some groups are using global
age-orientated in origin.
social media as forms of cultural defence and ethnic
For example, in 2001, the USA identified the revitalisation. For example, migrant populations
Taliban as an anti-democratic force that had to be use social media to facilitate connections with their
eradicated and invaded Afghanistan with that goal homeland. These connections help them to preserve
in mind. However, Chua argues that the USA failed and defend aspects of their culture, especially
to understand that the Taliban was also a resistance language, customs, traditions and religious rites
movement, mainly made up of people from the (see the Contemporary issues box in Unit 6.3.2).

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 S GLOBALISATION
Activity
Consider Chua’s ideas about tribes. Think about
the society in which you live. Are there tribes of
the type that Chua describes? Do some of these
dominate your society?
Hybridisation: glocalisation
or ‘transformative change'
Held (2010) argues that globalisation has led to
what he calls ‘transformative change’, which means
that there are no longer any clear distinctions
between the local/domestic and international in
terms of economic, social and political processes.
For example, aspects of local culture such as media,
films, television, music, religion, food, fashion
and sport are often now infused with inputs from
global sources. This transformative process often
produced a global-local nexus of exchange known
as ‘glocalisation’ - a fusion or blending of global
products with local products and services in ways
that reflect the cultural priorities and eccentricities
of a particular society.
Similarly, Steger observes that those who denounce
the homogenising effects of Americanisation must
not forget that hardly any society in the world
today possesses an ‘authentic or self-contained
culture’. Rather, cultural hybridity is increasingly
the norm. Steger argues that those sociologists
who believe in cultural convergence or homogeneity
need ‘to listen to exciting Bollywood pop songs,
admire the intricacies of the several variations of
Hawaiian pidgin or enjoy the culinary delights of
Cuban-Chinese cuisine'.
Roland Robertson (1995) argues that the
hybridisation that stems from the cultural flow
between the global and local can reinvigorate local
cultures. The processes of hybridisation are clearly
visible in fashion, music, dance, films, food, sports,
language and social media.
Robertson argues that glocalisation often involves
local people selecting from the global only that
which pleases them, so that it becomes embedded
in and accommodating to their local conditions
and needs. They borrow, adapt and modify global
products to match and blend with their domestic
cultural requirements. The global is modified by its
contact with the local fusion/creativity. The process
of glocalisation should work both ways if global
businesses wish to be successful. For example,
488
McDonald’s may have proliferated around the world
but the ingredients of its products vary to fit in with
local customs (from shrimp burgers in Japan to
kosher burgers for Jewish customers in Israel and an
emphasis on chicken burgers in Muslim countries).
Global fast-food outlets, therefore, adapt to local
eating customs that may vary from ’fast’ to ‘leisurely’
in different contexts.
John Clammer (2014) identifies a form of glocalisation
which he terms ‘indigenisation’. He notes that
Japanese culture is concerned with constructing
distinctive styles of dress and other forms of
consumption. Japanese people feel the need to
express their identity by creating the right atmosphere
at home. Moreover, Clammer argues that Japanese
tradition has always fostered eclecticism - a delight in
selecting new avenues of expression.
Consequently, Clammer argues that Japanese modern
consumerism is a combination of ancient Japanese
tradition - especially that relating to the giving and
receiving of gifts (often in return for favours) - and
global influences. For example, he observes that
Japanese culture has had little difficulty incorporating
the Christian festival of Christmas or American
inventions such as Mother’s Day and Halloween, all of
which involve the exchange of gifts.
Similarly, the Indian film industry - Bollywood -
exports 900 films a year to the rest of the world.
These combine traditional Hindu and other
mythological material relating to duty and kinship
obligations with American themes such as those
found in Hollywood musicals and romance.
Another form of glocalisation is creolisation, which
generates altogether new and fused inventions.
It is a form of creative blending. For example, in
South Nigeria, the absorption of Christianity into
local culture has led to a fusion of African music
and language with traditional hymns and gospel
and the traditional Christian rituals associated with
worship. However, local worshippers have blended
Christian worship with local cultural beliefs in magic
and witchcraft (which originates in the pre-Christian
religion of animism). Consequently, Nigerian churches
and what goes on in them are very different to their
Western counterparts.
Another good example of creolisation is the way that
Trinidadians use Facebook (‘Fasbook’ or ‘Macobook’)
to reflect their cultural priorities (see Unit 2.3.2).
Glocalisation often results in the hybridisation of food
and drink. In the West, people often combine spices

and sauces from around the world, such as soy sauce,
chilli and curry spices, pesto or Italian sauces, and
add them to traditional stews, soups, barbecue grills
and pies.
Activity
With the permission of your parents, go through
the fridge and kitchen cupboards at home and list
those products - spices, foods and drink - that are
not produced by the country in which you live. How
hybridised is your family’s favourite food?
Cohen and Kennedy also point out that in societies
in which there is conflict between rich and poor
or between powerful groups and the powerless,
hybridisation can often be a deviant or transgressive
act that can empower an oppressed social group.
Adopting a hybridised identity can be a form of political
protest that challenges the authority of those in power.
In addition to glocalisation, Cohen and Kennedy
point out there also exist what they call reverse
cultural flows’- for example, to the West from the
East. Western culture has been enriched by cultural
inputs from the popular culture of other societies. For
example, many Western musicians have worked with
African and Arab musicians to fuse genres of music
into new forms. Some world music fuses and mixes
Western dance beats with traditional styles from
North Africa and Asia. Western cultural lifestyles and
tastes have also been modified by aspects of Japanese
culture in the form of alternative medicine and herbal
therapy, meditative techniques and martial arts such
as t’ai chi, judo, karate and kung fu. Hinduism was
very influential in the 1960s and 1970s in terms of
influencing many New Age religions. The influence of
Chinese culture is apparent, with acupuncture being a
staple of many Western healthcare systems.
The postmodernist perspective
on globalisation
Martell (2010) argues that postmodernists argue
that what we think about is more important than
globalisation itself. We interpret the world as
globalising, whether it is or not. This may even have
a self-fulfilling effect. Because we think the world is
globalising, we act as if it is. Globalisation, then, has an
ideational force on us. Furthermore, it starts to happen
when we behave in a globalised way because of what
we think as much as because of what is actually there.
We need to analyse globalisation as a discourse and
8.2 GLOBALISATION AND IDENTITY
examine its signifiers (symbols of globalisation) and
people’s consciousness of the world.
From a postmodern point of view, one of the key
developments in the history of globalisation was the
popularisation of the idea of globalisation itself in the
1980s onwards, as much as any actual processes of
globalisation. Martell, however, is sceptical that
globalisation has actually occurred, because he
argues that there is no evidence of a shared global
consciousness - that is, that people around the world
think and interpret the social world in similar ways.
Some sociologists go as far as dismissing
globalisation as an ideological construction of
Western liberal intellectuals.
Activity
Research the principles that the popular TV
series Star Trek was organised around. The
USS Enterprise and its ethnically diverse crew
represented the United Federation of Planets.
Debate within your class the possibility of the
people of this planet adopting a one-world identity
or being united by subscribing to the same global
consciousness. What problems could be eradicated
if such unity could be achieved?
Key terms
Cultural convergence The process by which
different cultures become very similar or the same.
Homogenisation The process of being or
becoming the same.
Cultural divergence The process by which cultures
become different from one another or even come
into conflict with one another.
Fundamentalism A form of a religion, especially
Islam or Protestant Christianity, that believes in
and acts upon a literal interpretation of holy texts.
Xenophobia Fear or hatred of foreigners often
expressed through open or subtle forms of
hostility and aggression.
Assimilation The process in which an ethnic group
subculture is absorbed into a wider culture. It
involves ethnic groups either voluntarily or being
forced to give up traditional aspects of their
culture. The culture of the minority group comes to
resemble that of the majority group.
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 S GLOBALISATION
Multiculturalism The presence of, or support and
respect for, the presence of several distinct cultural
or ethnic groups within a society.
Othering Viewing another person as different or
inferior or alien compared with oneself. A form of
stereotyping based on ignorance.
Micro-aggression Indirect, subtle or unintentional
discrimination against members of a marginalised
group - for example, giving disapproving looks.
Cultural defence In a racist or hostile society,
ethnic minority groups may use aspects of their
religion as a way of defending their culture if it is
under threat.
Creolisation A hybrid mix of different cultures -
for example, see Miller’s work on how Trinidadian
people use Facebook as ‘Fasbook’.
Reverse cultural flow It is often assumed that the
cultural flow of ideas and cultural products is from
the West to other parts of the world. However,
Western culture has also been heavily influenced
by a cultural flow from the East in the form of
religion, diet, exercise regimes and so on.
Summary
1. Some critics of globalisation believe that
it has brought about cultural sameness or
homogenisation (also known as convergence)
that destroys and devalues the richness and
diversity of local cultures.
2. Other sociologists believe that globalisation
has brought about cultural divergence and
differences. The evidence suggests that there
are six possible social reactions to globalisation,
including a resurgence in nationalism, the rise
of fundamentalist and ethnic revitalisation
movements, cultural defence, and hybridisation
or glocalisation.
3. There are a number of different types of
hybridisation or glocalisation - that is, ways local
people combine or fuse the global with the local.
4. Postmodernists believe that thinking
about globalisation may be more important
than globalisation itself. They argue that true
globalisation can only occur when there exists
a unified global consciousness possessed by all
people in all societies. This consciousness does
not exist yet.
490
Unit 8.2.3 The role of Western
ideology in shaping
identity and the concept
of Westernisation
This unit aims to examine the role of Western
ideas in shaping identity around the world. Many
sociologists believe that a close examination of the
different dimensions of globalisation reveals that
Western ideology and practices have exercised a
disproportionate influence on these dimensions.
For example, Marxist sociologists argue that
economic globalisation is not a genuinely global
phenomenon because most of its characteristics
originate in Western capitalism, and particularly a
Western set of economic ideas or ideology known
as neoliberalism.
Westernisation
Some sociologists suggest that the term
‘internationalisation’ more accurately describes
economic globalisation and the world economy.
These writers do not deny that globalisation is
taking place. They are simply pointing out that
global processes are mainly driven by Western, and
especially American, influences and that therefore
what we are talking about is Westernisation.
Marxists have provided sociology with the most
compelling critique of capitalism. Most Marxists
reject the idea that globalisation is something new.
They tend to argue that the world economy is quite
simply characterised by an advanced version or
stage of capitalism in which capitalists search for new
and expanding markets for their goods. In 1848, in
The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels clearly
stated that capitalism would exist across 'the entire
surface of the globe. It must nestle everywhere, settle
everywhere, establish connections everywhere.’
According to Paul Hirst and Grahame Thompson
(2009), the modern world is dominated by a
form of international capitalism dominated by
Western governments, as well as multinationals
and international organisations such as the WTO
operating internationally rather than globally. The
function of these agents of capitalism is to scour
the world for raw materials, new markets and
sources of labour, and thus to make even greater

profits. Moreover, this international economic
activity is underpinned by an economic ideology -
neoliberalism - that originated in Western thought.
Neoliberal ideology states that individual freedom
is best guaranteed by the 'free market’ and that the
role of the state is to promote private enterprise by
removing any barriers such as tariffs, quotas and
regulations which prevent or impede open markets
and free trade. The influence of this ideology probably
reached its peak in the 1980s. Martell argues that it
carried in its wake another set of ideas which assumed
that less industrialised nations needed to adopt
Western forms of economic and political organisation
such as capitalism, industrialism, rationalisation,
urbanism, individualism and democracy if they wished
to be seen as modern or global societies.
Hirst and Thompson argued that a world economy
exists today made up of a collection of independent
capitalist economies in which the richest
nation-states (mainly located in North America,
Europe and Japan) exercise a great deal of economic
independent power and control. In contrast,
globalisation suggests one global economy within
which all countries, rich or poor, are interdependent
and in which even rich countries are unable to escape
the negative effects caused by this unified global
economy running into problems.
George Ritzer (1993) argues that one negative
consequence of the spread of capitalism across the
world has been the global adoption of a mode of
production and service that he calls ‘McDonaldization’,
which originated with the fast-food franchise of the
same name.
According to Ritzer, the four main dimensions of
‘McDonaldization’ are:
» Efficiency - quite simply, this refers to taking a
task and breaking it down into smaller tasks.
This process is repeated until all tasks have been
broken down to the smallest possible level. All
tasks are then rationalised to find the single
most efficient method for completing each task.
All workers perform this task in the same way.
Individuality is not allowed.
» Calculability - all outcomes are assessed on
quantifiable rather than subjective criteria.
Quantity is valued more than quality.
1 Predictability - the production process is
organised to guarantee uniformity of product and
standardised outcomes.
8.2 GLOBALISATION AND IDENTITY
» Control - this is achieved by de-skilling the labour
force or by replacing it with automation.
Ritzer is critical of‘McDonaldization’ because it
produces uniformity or homogeneity in production,
labour and product, wherever it is situated in the world.
However, from a Marxist perspective,
‘McDonaldization’ is just another capitalist way
of doing business. As manufacturing industry,
especially in the West, went into decline in the
1980s, new opportunities for profit opened up in
the service sector. As profits mounted, fast food
was internationalised. Marxists suggest that the
production of fast food was very much a component
of the spread of Western tastes. This can clearly be
seen when the arrival of the McDonald’s ‘Big Mac’ in
the communist states of Eastern Europe was seen as
a powerful symbol of Western freedom and consumer
lifestyle - the real taste of the USA.
Some sociologists claim that this internationalisation,
because of its Western bias, is a form of cultural
imperialism, and is destroying or eroding the richness
and unique quality of local cultural production and
destabilising local communities and dividing societies
along socio-economic and generational lines. It was
argued by Barber (2007) that this cultural imperialism
is producing a type of consumerism that is increasingly
soulless and unethical in its pursuit of profit. Benjamin
Barber and Andrea Schulz (1995) coined the term
‘McWorld’ to symbolise a global world in which
Activity
X ■
WWJL i i/"n
The opening of the first McDonald's restaurant in
Moscow, 1990.
Research how people in the former communist
countries of Russia, East Germany, Poland, Hungary
and Czechoslovakia reacted when McDonald’s
opened up their fast-food outlets in those countries.
491
 8 GLOBALISATION
they feared all cultures and consumption would be
standardised and homogenised.
Those who argue that cultural imperialism is a
problem have expressed concern about:
* Media concentration - most of the world’s media
and culture industry is owned and controlled by a
few powerful media corporations (see Unit 6.2.1).
These media conglomerates, which are mainly
American (such as Disney, Microsoft, WarnerMedia,
Apple, Facebook and AOL) have achieved near
monopolistic control of newspapers, film archives,
news programmes, advertising, satellites, internet
search engines, social media platforms and the
production of music, films and television shows. It is
feared that this media concentration over cultural
products may threaten democracy and freedom of
expression.
> Marxist critical thinkers such as Robert McChesney
(2008) highlight the similarity of digital content
and social networking. American capitalism, as
represented by corporations such as Facebook,
Google and Twitter, for example, operates in
hundreds of countries across the world. He claims
that these companies are engaged in a form
of cultural imperialism aimed at spreading the
American way-of-life’ and are, therefore, engaged in
a ‘colonialism of the mind’ and resulting in millions
of people behaving and thinking in the same way.
McChesney argues that this ‘cult of homogeneity’
speaks to everyone in general and no one in
particular and crowds out local cultural products. It
has also reduced people’s opportunity to speak out
and challenge issues such as inequality.
» Fuchs (2013), too, argues that all forms of global
communication and social media platforms are
ideological in that they function on behalf of the
global capitalist ruling class to reproduce and
justify class inequality, especially that expressed
via wealth and income inequalities (see Unit 6.2.1).
Fuchs believes that the role of digital social media
and the cultural products produced by modern
capitalism is to bring about a state of 'false class
consciousness' so that ordinary citizens and workers
do not criticise or challenge the organisation of
capitalist society, which allegedly favours the few at
the expense of the many.
» The influence of American companies such as
Coca-Cola, Nike, Pepsi and Microsoft as symbols of
US power and materialism is illustrated by a story
retold by Cohen and Kennedy about Fidel Castro
and Che Guevara, the leaders of the Cuban
492
revolution. Both were very conscious of the iconic
power of American culture. Every day, Che would
present Fidel with a bottle or can of Coke until one
day Castro shook his head and said, ‘It’s no good,
unless we crack the formula of Coca-Cola, the
revolution is doomed.’
Activity
What are the implications of Castro’s conclusions
about Coca-Cola?
» Other societies can rarely compete with this
American domination of cultural production. This
can be illustrated in three ways:
1. Music production and sales are dominated by
American artists and studios. The only country
that has made any significant inroads into the
American dominance of the music industry
is Britain. Held observes that many domestic
record industries cannot compete with the
Americanisation of music. France, for example,
has maintained a relatively strong domestic
music industry and market for its own particular
brand of pop, although it is less popular outside
French-speaking countries (however, French
bands such as Daft Punk often use English lyrics
to sell to a wider global market). He observes
that ‘Sweden has generated the disco equivalent
of Volvo in the shape of Abba’ but on the whole,
world music (from the likes of Nigeria, Ghana,
Cuba and South Korea (K-Pop and Gangnam)
is expanding, but currently only takes up a tiny
share of international music markets.
Activity
‘Globalisation is more likely to result in global
convergence than global divergence’. Evaluate this
view.
Films are made and released internationally by
only 20 or so nations but the USA dominates the
number of films shown in cinemas around the world.
For example, over 80 per cent of domestic cinema
receipts are generated by US-made films. There are
few co-productions between US film-makers and
film-makers in other countries. Some countries,
notably France, have taken steps to protect their
domestic film industry by introducing quotas on the
number of English-speaking films shown in cinemas.

2. Tourism is often cited as evidence of the
globalisation of culture, but neither the origins
nor the final destinations of international tourists
support this thesis. Tourist expenditure, for
example, is not evenly distributed or divided
across the globe. The vast majority of outward
tourist movement is from the USA and Europe.
Jan Aarte Scholte (2005) takes issue with Hirst and
Thompson and argues that, since the late 1980s,
there are signs that ‘superterritorialism’ is becoming
the dominant feature of the 21 st-century world.
He argues in favour of a form of globalisation that
he claims goes far beyond the Marxist concept
of internationalisation, because it ‘involves more
people, more often’. It also involves a greater volume
of global transactions and is both more extensive
and intensive. He claims that the world is now
experiencing a more genuine form of globalisation
characterised by two types of global connectivity not
experienced before. This is something above, beyond
and separate from geographical connectedness:
a) Transworld simultaneity - people in a diversity
of distant and remote places are doing the same
things as each other, such as consuming the
same brand of coffee, watching the same global
sports tournaments and worrying about and
experiencing the same ecological problems or
economic problems caused by events outside of
the society in which they live.
b) Transworld instantaneity - people who are
located in different parts of the world and
time-zones, and who are culturally and linguistically
different from one another, can now use social
media such as Facebook and Twitter to interact with
and communicate with one another at the same
time. Moreover, they can instantaneously swap
!
social capital and distribute political ideas that
people in other societies can use to publicise or
challenge the inequalities and human rights abuses
that exist in their own society or worldwide.
However, Martell remains unconvinced. He argues
that if globalisation had truly taken place, then a
'global consciousness’ ought to be apparent and
that most of the world’s population would have an
awareness of ‘the globe as one place’. They would
view themselves as citizens of the world. However,
the evidence suggests that the nation-state mentality
still dominates - for example, international surveys
do not report that the majority of the world’s people
see themselves as part of a global community.
8.2 GLOBALISATION AND IDENTITY
3. Finally, Scholte argues that globality is evident in
social relations through global consciousness. In
other words, people often do think globally. For
example, some might regard the planet as a ‘global
village’ or globally minded people might regard the
planet as the main source of their food supplies as
well as their entertainments, threats and friends.
For example, Ghanaian traders and Filipino
domestics may see the whole planet, rather than
just the region they come from, as their potential
workplace. Scholte also argues that transworld
consciousness can also take the form of languages
(such as English, Esperanto and Spanish) and is
often symbolised by icons such as the Coca-Cola
or Nike logo, as well as World Heritage Sites.
Awareness of the planet as a single social place is,
furthermore, evident in events such as global sports
competitions - for example, the Olympic Games,
World Cups in football, rugby and cricket), global
exhibitions, global film festivals, global tours by
music superstars, global conferences and global
panics. In addition, global consciousness arises
when people conceive of their social affiliations
in transplanetary, supraterritorial terms - for
instance, with transworld solidarities based on
class, gender, generation, profession, race, religion,
sexuality and, indeed, humanity. However, Scholte
acknowledges that the world has not yet reached
this stage. However, he is confident that one day
it will. He illustrates this confidence by referring
to humankind’s obsession with aliens from outer
space. He observes that when we discuss the
possibility of aliens from other planets, the alien
other is not conceived as just another nationality
from another territory, but as another being from
another planet, ‘thereby defining humanity and the
Earth as one’.
Key terms
Westernisation The process whereby cultures
adopt American or European ways of thinking or
cultural practices.
McWorld A term used to indicate a particular
standardisation of production techniques inspired
by the McDonald’s fast-food chain and seen to
epitomise globalisation.
Americanisation The dominance of American
cultural products such as Hollywood films or rap
music.
493
8 GLOBALISATION
Transworld simultaneity Scholte defines this as
global connections that extend across the planet
at the same time. For instance, people in lots of
places doing the same thing, such as young people
drinking Coca-Cola as a lifestyle choice.
Transworld instantaneity Scholte defines this as
global connections that move anywhere across the
planet in no time. For instance, digital technology
can connect people at the same time wherever
they are located in the world using devices.
END-OF-PART QUESTIONS
1 0 1 1 1 Describe two examples of cultural convergence.
1 0 1 2 1 Explain one positive effect and one negative effect of the impact of globalisation on
personal identity.
1 0 | 5 1 Explain two reasons why some societies and cultures attempt to resist globalisation.
PART 3 GLOBALISATION. POWER AND POLITICS
Contents
Unit 8.3.1 The spread of liberal democracy
and human rights 495
Unit 8.3.2 Global social movements and
attempts to oppose
globalisation 505
Unit 8.3.3 Debates about the role of the
nation-state in tackling global
social and environmental
problems 511
This part focuses on political globalisation,
specifically the global spread of a particular type
of political system known as liberal democracy or
democratic capitalism. This system has a number
of distinct social characteristics that differentiate
it from other political systems, past and present.
The main features of liberal democracy include the
nation-state and the promotion and protection of
human rights - basic rights and freedoms which, in
principle, belong to every person in the world, from
birth until death. Unit 8.3.1 explores the features
of liberal democracies and contrasts them with
494
Summary
1. Marxists reject the idea of globalisation
altogether. Rather, they believe that what
is mistaken for globalisation is merely an
expansion of capitalism into new markets. This
has produced a negative by-product because
capitalist values are often shaped by Western
values and consequently accused of cultural
imperialism.
[4 marks]
[6 marks]
[8 marks]
other political systems - for example, authoritarian
governments. The unit also considers which human
rights are regarded as fundamental to liberal
democracies and contrasts this with the human
rights records of authoritarian states.
Unit 8.3.2 focuses on global social movements
that have arisen since the 1980s to oppose
the globalisation encouraged by liberal elites
and democracies. However, some sociologists
argue that such movements have also helped
spread liberal democracy in their opposition to
repressive totalitarian regimes that routinely
ignore or abuse human rights. The effectiveness
of these anti-globalisation, pro-democracy and
human rights movements has been enhanced
by the globalisation of digital technology, which
has interconnected various protest groups based
around the world at the click of a button.
Finally, Unit 8.3.3 examines whether the
nation-state is capable of survival in the globalised
world and whether it has the will or resources to
tackle the social and environmental risks, threats
and problems associated with globalisation.

Unit 8.3.1 The spread of liberal
democracy and
human rights
This unit identifies and explores the social features
that characterise liberal democracies and
nation-states. It also contrasts liberal democracies
with other political systems. For example, in recent
years, there has been an increase in authoritarian
governments in which autocratic leaders have
taken power on a wave of populism motivated by
resentment of liberal elites and globalisation. The
unit concludes by examining the concept of human
rights and evaluating the different definitions of
which rights are regarded as fundamental to liberal
democracies. In contrast, the record of authoritarian
states with regard to human rights is considered,
especially the view that, in many of these societies,
human rights tend to be undervalued, ignored
altogether and even abused.
Defining liberal democracy
and authoritarianism
Countries are territories inhabited by a distinct
cultural or ethnic group. Throughout history, such
groups have claimed sovereignty over that territory,
which means that they have organised themselves
into a government that has established borders
between its territory and that of other groups, and
claimed the right and power to govern what goes
on within that territory. Until the 16th and 1 7th
centuries, most territories were ruled by autocratic
rulers such as kings, emperors and princes, and
subjects had very little say in how governance was
organised.
Anthony Pick (2011) argues that the first
nation-states emerged in the 17th century. In
nation-states, leaders are accountable to civil society.
This means that the legitimacy of such leaders is
derived from the people through the mechanism
of democratic elections. Consequently, most
nation-states today are based on liberal democracy
although authoritarian regimes continue to exist.
Liberal democracy
Held (2006) argues that a liberal or representative
democracy means that decisions affecting a
community such as a nation are taken by a group
8.3 GLOBALISATION. POWER AND POLITICS
of representatives who have been chosen via an
electoral process (voting) to govern within the
framework of the rule of law.
He argues that liberal democracies are composed
of a cluster of rules and institutions that distinguish
them from other political systems, and which are
necessary to their successful functioning. In 2006,
the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) produced
its first ‘democracy index’. This aims to categorise
countries into one of four regime types; full
democracies, partial or flawed democracies,
hybrid regimes and authoritarian states. Full liberal
democracies share the features in the following list;
flawed or partial democracies share most of these
features but may be weak in one or two respects;
hybrid regimes may have only some of these
characteristics.
1. A written or unwritten constitution; that is, a set
of laws which define the role, powers and structure
of the different institutions that make up the state.
It also makes clear in federal countries such as
the USA, Nigeria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium
and Australia the relationship between the central
or federal government and state, provincial or
territorial governments.
2. An executive or government that makes, puts
into action and reinforces law and social policy. It
is usually headed by a president or prime minister
who leads a cabinet made up of ministers who have
been given responsibility and budgets to run large
government departments. The executive exercises
authority over most areas of the internal social life
of a society, especially the economic, education,
welfare and criminal justice systems as well as
making foreign policy and maintaining diplomatic
relationships with other states.
3. A parliament or legislature made up of elected
representatives (which includes those of the ruling
political party and those of opposition parties) who
critically examine and debate the laws and policies
introduced by the executive in order to make sure
! that it is not exceeding its powers and to make
certain that such laws and policies take account of
the rights of all social groups that make up society.
Some legislatures have the legal authority to
remove the executive if they feel it has exceeded its
power or if a president or prime minister is accused
of criminal offences such as treason or corruption,
or of bringing the office into disrepute. In the USA,
this legal process is known as ‘impeachment’.
495
 8 GLOBALISATION
4. A body of public officials or civil servants that
are appointed on the basis of merit to manage
the day-to-day affairs of the state, and who are
answerable to elected officials such as ministers.
5. An independent judiciary - in the USA and many
other societies, a Supreme Court exists which
aims to protect constitutional rights and prevent
governments from behaving illegally.
6. A guarantee to meet basic needs and to
safeguard individual human rights and freedoms.
Liberal democracies often take responsibility for
meeting the basic needs of its most vulnerable
citizens and social groups from the cradle to the
grave. For example, they may provide education
and free or subsidised healthcare. Many states
also guarantee and defend the rights and
freedoms of their citizens because such rights
confer dignity on individual citizens and promote
tolerance and social order. For example, liberal
democracies generally support freedom of speech
and expression. Criticism of the political system
and politicians is actively encouraged so long
as it is not slanderous or libellous. Moreover,
in liberal democracies, all citizens, regardless
of social background, have the right to run for
elected public office.
7. Elections that are frequent, free and fair. For
example, in the USA, elections for president occur
every four years, although there is a maximum
term of eight years imposed on successful
candidates. In France, a new president is elected
every five years after two rounds of voting.
496
8. Universal suffrage or the right to vote. Usually, all
adults or a majority of them have the right to vote
in elections unless they are legitimately banned
from doing so because they are suffering from
severe mental illness or are in prison.
9. A free and independent media. Every citizen
has the right to obtain information or news,
especially about government activity, from sources
independent of government or interests that
support the government.
Partial and hybrid democracies
Held points to a number of countries which he
describes as ‘partial democracies’. These societies
demonstrate some accountability to citizens via
elections but may exercise some restrictions on
their citizens. For example, they may deny women,
homosexuals and ethnic minorities (especially
migrant groups) human rights or curb the activities
of trade unions or human rights organisations. In
2018, the EIU downgraded the USA to a partial
democracy because it argued that free speech and
an independent media and judiciary were under
attack from the Trump administration. The American
government’s treatment of suspected Islamic
terrorists who have been kept without trial for years
at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre, and the
2018 separation of migrant children from their
parents at the Mexican border and their confinement
in cages, has also attracted global criticism of the
USA’s attitude towards human rights.
Hybrid regimes are nations in which irregularities
in elections prevent them from being free and fair.
Such countries may have regular elections but unfair
pressure may be exerted on political opponents, and
the media may be controlled by elites and therefore
be biased in favour of the state or its leadership.
Moreover, corruption and bribery of politicians and
other public servants may be common, and some
human rights may be violated. Russia is regarded by
the EIU as a typical hybrid nation.
Authoritarian political systems
In 1974, according to Held, a large number (68
per cent) of political systems worldwide were
authoritarian. Authoritarianism refers to the
principle of unquestioning submission to authority. In
terms of a political system, 'authoritarian government’
denotes any political system that concentrates power
in the hands of a single leader or political party, or a
small elite (or oligarchy) that is not constitutionally

responsible to the mass of the people that make
up a territory or nation. There are a number of
variations on authoritarian political regimes, which
we now explain.
Fascism
Some notorious authoritarian political regimes
have been organised around fascist principles - for
example, Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy
in the 1930s and 1940s. Fascism is a totalitarian
governmental system led by a ‘supreme’ leader
or dictator (who often comes to power on the
basis of force of personality or charisma and/or
because they have managed to obtain the support
of the military-industrial elite). Such leaders
exercise complete power and often command blind
loyalty and obedience from followers, allies and
subordinates. Fascists often use coercion in the
form of violence to forcibly suppress opposition and
criticism. Opponents who pose a serious threat to
the regime may be imprisoned without trial, and
even executed, on fabricated political charges. Fascist
regimes also emphasise an aggressive nationalism,
often underpinned by a contempt for ‘lesser’ nations
and ethnic groups and racism. Consequently, fascist
governments in the past have engaged in ethnic
cleansing of groups they believe to be inferior in
breeding. For example, the Nazis systematically
exterminated 6 million Jewish people (known as the
‘Holocaust’). Finally, fascist regimes often organise,
control and regiment all industry and commerce in
service of the fascist state.
Communism
A large number of authoritarian regimes which
exercised totalitarian power in the 20th century
were the direct and indirect result of the communist
revolution that took place in Russia in 1917, which
led to the setting up in 1922 of the communist state
of the USSR (the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).
The USSR rejected liberal-democratic principles
such as free elections or pluralism - the idea that
a range of political parties should compete with
one another for the votes of an electorate. Instead,
this particular authoritarian state was based on five
fundamental principles:
1. It was a one-party state in that the communist
party was regarded as the only legitimate
organisation that could propel the goals of the
state forward. Individuals were expected by the
party to commit themselves wholeheartedly to
communist objectives. Consequently individual
8.3 GLOBALISATION. POWER AND POLITICS
rights, such as freedom of speech and assembly,
were rejected, while those who criticised the party,
the state and the supreme leader were often exiled
to work camps in Siberia or executed.
2. Power was concentrated in the hands of the
leaders of the party - for example, in the 1920s
Joseph Stalin managed, with the assistance of
coercive institutions such as the secret police
(KGB), to achieve absolute power, which he used to
exterminate or exile his opponents within the party
and crush any criticism and dissent. The death of
Stalin in 1953 saw the communist leadership shift
from the notion of autocracy (dictatorial rule by
one person) to oligarchy (rule by an elite; in this
case, the Politburo - the policy-making committee
of the Soviet Communist Party).
3. Propaganda - biased or misleading information -
was circulated widely and constantly repeated
to convince the population of the USSR that the
communist project was on track and working
effectively.
4. A centralised ‘command economy’ was put into
place. This is where the state rather than the free
market determines what goods should be produced
or to what extent or at what speed industry should
develop. For example, in the 1920s, Stalin instigated
a massive agricultural programme, which resulted
in the death of millions of peasants and, in the
1930s, an accelerated industrialisation programme,
which resulted in both the modernisation and rapid
urbanisation of Soviet society.
5. The export of communist ideas worldwide intended
to kick-start communist revolutions around the
world. This had some success - for example, North
Korea and China installed communist regimes
in 1948 and 1949 respectively, while other
societies such as Cuba (1959), Somalia (1969),
Yemen (1970), Congo (1970), Ethiopia (1974),
Mozambique, Vietnam, Laos, Angola (all 1975)
and Afghanistan (1978) declared themselves either
socialist or Marxist republics.
The success of the Soviet army during World War
II led to the Soviet occupation of much of Eastern
Europe and the imposition of communism and
puppet communist leaders, controlled by the USSR,
on occupied Eastern European countries such as
Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Romania and Albania.
However, in 2018, only five authoritarian regimes based
on communist principles remain worldwide - China,
497
 8 6L0BALISATION
North Korea, Vietnam, Cuba and Laos. Between 1989
and 1992, most of the communist regimes of Eastern
Europe collapsed and their governments adopted
universal suffrage and free elections. The Soviet Union
fragmented into 15 independent nation-states, most of
which abandoned the one-party system and adopted
democracy.
Contemporary Marxist regimes
The communist regimes that continue to exist today
have shifted away from pure communist ideals.
For example, China has survived as a ‘communist’
nation-state to become the leading economic power
in the world because in the 1990s the Chinese
leadership abandoned the notion that the state
should exclusively command and shape the future
direction of the economy. Private enterprise was
encouraged and the Chinese leadership surrendered
some of their economic controls to the ‘natural’
processes of the free market. As a result, China
has been described as a ‘market-Leninist’ system.
However, political and social controls were not
surrendered. The Chinese Communist Party continues
to exert considerable social control over the Chinese
people in the form of censorship of the media, and
particularly over Chinese people’s access to and use
of non-Chinese websites and social media platforms.
China is still a one-party state and President Xi has
recently been appointed president for life.
Military dictatorships
Some authoritarian states originate in military
coups or takeovers. Huntington (1991) observed
that between 1950 and 1975 a significant number
of countries, especially in Latin America and Africa,
experienced military rule after coups d’etat, which
often used force to remove democratically elected
leaders. These military forms of political rule
produced autocratic or oligarchic rulers in countries
as diverse as Spain, Portugal, Greece, Argentina,
Chile, Brazil, Zaire, Iraq, Pakistan and Myanmar.
Apartheid
Some authoritarian states have been based on racial
segregation. The apartheid system - a system of
institutionalised racial segregation - shaped the
political system of South Africa between 1948 and
1994. In this system, the White minority imposed
strict controls over the majority Black population.
Theocracies
Some authoritarian states are theocracies - that
is, they are ruled by people and/or laws considered
498
to have divine authority. For example, Saudi
Arabia is an absolute monarchy underpinned by
Islamic theology. Since 1932, Saudi Arabia has
been ruled by the House of Saud. The power of
the king is inherited and regarded as legitimate
because it is accepted by the people that his power
is divinely ordained (that is, it comes directly from
God). Moreover, both the power of the king and
the constitution of Saudi Arabia are based on
the Qur’an and the support of Wahhabi religious
clerics and scholars - a strict form of Sunni Islam
which forbids the promotion of religions other
than Islam. Other theocracies include Afghanistan,
the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sudan, Yemen and
Mauritania.
Activity
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The Vatican City is an authoritarian state.
Consider the reasons why the Vatican City is
technically an authoritarian state.
Liberal democracies and authoritarian
states today
Held claims that the number of liberal democracies,
whether full, partial or hybrid, increased greatly
across the world in the 19th and 20th centuries. In
2018, the EIU estimated that of the 167 countries
in the world, 19 qualified as full democracies with a
further 57 (including the USA) qualifying as flawed or
partial democracies. Forty-six per cent of countries
worldwide can be called ‘liberal-democratic’.
In addition, the EIU identified 39 countries as
hybrid-democratic (23 per cent), while 52 countries
were deemed authoritarian (31 per cent). This means
that liberal-democratic principles can be found in
most societies around the world.
Held observes, then, that there has been a significant
decline in the number of authoritarian states but
that there is no guarantee that authoritarian states

will eventually convert to liberal democracy. Held
argues that liberal democracies are often resisted
by ruling elites and often only emerge after a
period in which the struggles of working-class,
ethnic groups and civil rights activists are violently
suppressed.
The nation-state
It is impossible to discuss the role of liberal
democracy without identifying and describing its
basic unit - the nation-state. Steger (2017) argues
that, over the past two centuries, humans have
organised their political differences as follows:
» They tend to identify with a particular
geographical location or territory in which they
and their ancestors have physically lived since
time immemorial. This territory may take on the
status of nation-state when other surrounding
territories recognise and respect the validity
and legitimacy of borders differentiating land
as belonging to other ethnic groups, tribes and
so on.
> Nation-states exercise sovereignty. This
means that other nation-states recognise that
they have the right to govern themselves, to
impose their authority, controls and laws on
people within a particular bordered territory
without direct interference from other
nation-states.
» Nation-states are bureaucratic - in order to be
effective at governing their citizens, they develop
a system of rational rules and regulations, a clear
hierarchy of authority and a specialised division of
labour. A non-elected well-educated bureaucratic
class of managers and professionals (civil servants)
administrates the day-to-day running of the
nation-state.
> Identification with such a nation-state may invoke
pride in a shared history and a powerful sense
of belonging in the form of patriotism - being
proud of your country for what it does - and
nationalism - being proud of your country no
matter what it does.
» Relationships with other nation-states are an
important feature of most nation-states. Most
have established diplomatic relations with other
nation-states worldwide in order to peacefully
resolve problems that might arise between them
and to safeguard their citizens when travelling
abroad.
8.3 GLOBALISATION. POWER AND POLITICS
Activity
Most of us belong to a nation-state which is
committed to protecting us when we travel to other
nation-states. What symbols of your nationhood
do you (or other citizens) carry with you to other
countries? How would you seek help from your
nation-state if you ran into trouble abroad?
> Nation-states usually monopolise any powers of
coercion. In other words, the state supervises
policing and the judicial system. It also maintains
an armed force in the shape of an army, navy or air
force in order to protect its interests and security
from either internal threats (such as terrorism or
uprisings) or external threats (for example, invasion).
» Nation-states often attempt to manage their
economies in order to maintain employment,
inflation, the price of basic necessities, and
therefore living standards, to preserve the value of
their currency, to control taxation, interest rates,
public spending and to reduce the national debt
and to maintain a certain level of trade with other
nation-states. Some nation-states will be very
hands-on in terms of managing their economies,
while others may prefer minimal intervention.
» People in nation-states organise themselves
politically in order to protect their right to occupy
that territory. Most territories have tended to adopt
liberal-democratic means of doing this. However, as
we have already seen, authoritarian systems and
autocratic leaders may be welcomed in some parts
of the world.
» Citizens in nation-states subscribe to a collective
identity based on an artificial division between the
‘domestic’ - the familiar ‘we’ who have lived on
this land for generations and have constructed a
nation-state to reflect that fact - and the unfamiliar
‘foreign’ ‘them’ - potential invaders and threats
such as migrants.
> Steger, therefore, observes that modern
nation-states are both psychological and physical
manifestations. People live within real borders but
I
what is just as important is the sense of existential
;
security - the feeling that the state will protect the
interests of both ourselves and future generations
and the sense of historical continuity that produces
strong feelings of social integration and solidarity.
In other words, the concept of nation-state is
successful when people feel psychologically
committed to it. This psychological commitment is
nurtured, says Steger, by social institutions such
499
 S GLOBALISATION
as the media and sport, usually with state support,
which demonise ‘outsiders’ so that citizens are
encouraged to believe in the superiority of their
own nation and cultural way of life. Steger argues
that this demonisation of others often supplies the
mental energy required for mass warfare.
Human rights
There are a number of slightly differing definitions
of human rights. Generally, human rights are moral
principles or norms that describe certain standards
of human behaviour seen to be worth protecting by
both domestic and international laws. However, there
is little agreement on what constitutes such rights or
principles. The literature on human rights suggests
there exist three broad approaches: entitlement,
equality or a combination of the two.
'Entitlement' focuses on those positive economic
and welfare rights to which some sociologists believe
citizens should be entitled. For example. Frank Bealey
and Allan Johnson (1999) suggest that any list of
human rights should include the right to life or survival
and the right to property. J.A. Ferguson (1986) argues
that if nation-states have the resources, it is desirable
that they protect their citizens from hunger and that
they should guarantee them a minimum standard of
living, as well as free education (thus guaranteeing a
level of literacy and numeracy) and healthcare for all.
An 'equality* approach is organised around the
concept of equality before the law and is focused on
the notion that the state may deliberately deprive
some groups of the rights that the majority take
for granted because the state disapproves of their
political or religious beliefs. Some groups may be
deprived of the same rights or opportunities as
the majority because they have inherited ascribed
characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity or
tribe. Moreover, some groups may be defined as
‘deviant’ by the state because of their sexuality.
Francis Fukuyama (2018) suggests that there are
three fundamental sets of rights brought together in
the ‘equality’ approach to human rights:
a) Civil rights - the rights that people have in a
society to equal treatment and equal opportunities,
whatever their race, sex, or religion.
b) Religious rights - being able to express one’s
religious beliefs and follow particular religious
practices free from persecution and state controls.
c) Political rights - to be able to express political
opinions which may be in opposition to or
500
critical of the government in power. Particular
freedoms are seen as essential to the health of
nation-states that practise liberal democracy.
These include freedom of speech, the freedom
to lawfully and peacefully assemble in public, in
order to criticise other political points of view or
to protest or demonstrate against those in power.
Other political freedoms include the right to form
opposition parties or to go on strike.
Many authoritarian states fail to guarantee these
rights for their citizens. The evidence collected
by organisations such as Amnesty International
suggests that some authoritarian states routinely
engage in persecution, discrimination, imprisonment
without trial, torture, assassination and summary
executions of political opponents and critics.
In addition to Fukuyama’s civil, religious and political
categories of human rights, we could add another
category - social rights - which might include the
following freedoms:
> not to be forced into slavery
» not to be forced into marriage
> not to be forced to become a child soldier
* not to be forcibly trafficked into the global
sex trade
> to be free from being victims of war crimes such as
mass rape and kidnappings.
Two examples of international non-governmental
organisations that aim to monitor, highlight
and prevent such future abuses are Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch. The website
of Amnesty International UK states that:
Human rights are the fundamental rights and
freedoms that belong to every single one of us,
anywhere in the world. Human rights apply no
matter where you are from, what you believe in, or
how you choose to live your life. Human rights can
never be taken away, but they can sometimes be
restricted - for example if a person breaks the law,
or in the interests of national security. These rights
and freedoms are based on values like dignity,
fairness, equality, respect and independence. But
human rights are not just abstract concepts - they
are defined and protected by law.
Some approaches to human rights combine the
‘entitlement’ and ‘equality’ approaches. The United
Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR) is a good example of this. It highlights 30
rights and freedoms, including the right to asylum,

the right to freedom from torture, the right to free
speech and the right to education.
Activity
Research and choose one or two human rights from
the UN’s declaration and design a colourful poster
that advertises why such rights are a ‘good’ thing.
The critique of universal definitions
of human rights
Jeffrey Haynes (2008) argues that few human rights
have universal application. He observes that, while
(nearly) everyone would agree that it is wrong to kill
people without justification or let them starve wilfully,
it is doubtful that all nation-states could guarantee
their citizens the right, for example, to a house, jobs,
paid holidays and clean water. He observes that
all these things are highly desirable but questions
whether they are ‘rights’ and points out that,
sometimes through no fault of their own, many less
industrialised societies lack the economic means to
provide such rights to all their citizens.
Haynes also points out that the successful provision
of human rights depends on too many factors which
are beyond the control of weak or poor nation-states.
Examples include: unfair terms of world trade, which
mean that such societies do not receive a fair price
for their raw materials and cash crops; the power of
Western transnationals to corrupt those in power in
less industrialised societies; and the presence of armed
conflicts such as civil wars (often encouraged by other
more powerful nation-states and transnationals in
order to gain control over scarce raw resources such as
blood diamonds, coltan and uranium). Consequently,
it has been suggested by Stanley Cohen (2007) that
definitions of human rights should be extended so
that they are truly global and cover the activities of the
richer Western nations and transnational companies.
Examples might include:
> the right to be treated as an equal partner in
world trade
> the right to receive a fair market price for any raw
materials and cash crops produced for sale on the
world market
» the right for workers in the less industrialised world
to be paid a fair wage for their labour
* the right of children to a childhood rather than
being exploited by transnational companies for
their labour in sweat shops and factories
8.3 GLOBALISATION. POWER AND POLITICS
Individualistic and collectivistic
conceptions of human rights
Haynes observes that a major problem inherent in
the definitions of human rights used by the UNDHR
or organisations such as Amnesty International is
that they are based on ‘individualistic’ conceptions of
human rights which originate in Western philosophy.
However, in contrast there also exist ‘collectivistic’
notions of human rights which may justify the ‘harsh’
treatment of some individuals and groups in the
name of the ‘collective good’. Michael Sodaro (2004)
notes that 'abuses’ in the name of the common
good might include violation of freedom of speech
and right to vote, the arrest and torture of political
dissidents, mass atrocities committed in times of civil
war or unrest, religious and ethnic persecution and
the abuse and repression of women.
Haynes argues that Asian value systems
stress collective rights and that individualistic
Western-orientated human rights are ‘culturally
alien’ to Asian elites because Asian countries have
cultures and histories that reflect the importance of
the community. These collective rights supposedly
reflect a range of‘desirable’ socio-political values
and rights. Various Asian nation-states, particularly
China, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and the
Philippines, have long claimed that the suppression
of individualistic human rights such as freedom of
speech and control over the media and the internet
was a necessary price to pay for strong and continuous
economic growth and rising living standards. However,
critics of this view, such as Ken Christie and Denny
Roy (2001) argued that this is an attempt to justify
and perpetuate authoritarian government. As Haynes
argues, ‘collective rights are a cloak for authoritarian
and erratic rule, reflecting the narrow political interest
of those in power, not the collective concerns of society.
Such governments are often illiberal democracies -
characterised by a mix of democracy, liberalism,
capitalism, oligarchy and corruption’. Haynes notes
that China has attempted to justify its violations of
human rights using this collectivist argument. For
example, every year, many Chinese citizens (reported
to number in the thousands) are executed under a
legal system which Haynes argues is both corrupt
and over-secretive. As the rest of the world moves
towards the abolition of the death penalty, China has
actually extended its use. Most of those executed
according to Amnesty International come from poor
and marginalised groups. The Chinese have particularly
targeted the Muslim Uighur ethnic group and those
belonging to the Falun Gong religion.
501
 8 GLOBALISATION
Haynes observes that the collectivist justification for
the suppression of individualistic human rights has
recently weakened because many Asian societies,
with the exception of China, have experienced an
economic downturn and decline in living standards.
Randall Peerenboom (2007) argues optimistically
that China will eventually adopt an individualistic
concept of political and human rights and a greater
degree of democratic accountability. Haynes agrees,
and concludes that the present tension between
Western individualistic and Asian collectivism
conceptions of human rights is the product of social
progress - it simply reflects the difference between
modernisation and tradition.
Evaluating definitions of human rights
The debate about what constitute human rights is
a heated one. Some sociologists, especially those
from non-Western societies, claim that definitions
and categories are notoriously subjective and
ethnocentric because such definitions are dominated
by Western cultural experience. Moreover,
Westerners often characterise non-Western cultures
as backward and inferior for not following Western
standards regarding human rights.
Haynes (2008) observes that there exists a vigorous
debate about the cultural relativity of human rights.
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im (2001) accepts that
human rights are rights that are due to all human
beings by virtue of their humanity, and that groups
should not be deprived of such rights because of their
race, national origin, culture, religion, language or
gender. However, he questions whether such rights
are truly universal - that is, relevant or applicable to
every culture.
Gustavo Esteva (1992) rejects the idea that there
exists universal agreement about what should
constitute a list of human rights. As a postmodernist
thinker, Esteva claims that we live in a ‘pluriverse’
rather than a universe. This means that there are
countless cultural ways in which people live in
relation to others, and as such the human rights
record of nation-states in the less industrialised
world cannot be judged by Western individualistic
standards. They can only be judged by the standards
of similar cultures and societies.
Esteva promotes the idea of cultural relativity.
This is the idea that, because different cultures
have differing reference points, it is not appropriate
to judge all societies according to one universal
standard. For example, the experience of being
502
brought up and living in a Western society prevents
Westerners from making objective judgements and
assessments about other cultures.
Esteva argues that the debate about human rights,
what the modern nation-state should look like and
how its leaders should behave is all too often shaped
by Western culture.
Wolfgang Sachs (2009) argues that Western
attempts to shape a universal definition of human
rights is hypocritical because Western societies
regularly engage in human rights abuses but imply
that these ‘abuses' are less important than those
practised by less industrialised nation-states in Asia
and Africa. For example, many states of the USA still
practise the death penalty and US prisons contain
a disproportionate number of Black inmates when
compared to the percentage of the US population
that is Black. Other critics argue that if the USA
wishes to shape universal standards on human
rights, it needs to seriously tackle its own human
rights issues such as: the disproportionate number
of unarmed Black people who are being shot
dead by the police, which inspired the ‘Black Lives
Matter' movement; and the sexual abuse of women
by powerful men, which inspired the ‘MeToo’ and
‘Time’sUp’ movements.
Activity
Make a list of the 'rights’ that you believe should be
included in an index of human rights that the state
must protect.
Critique of the cultural relativity
argument
Cultural relativists are probably correct to point
out that human rights are not perfect in the West,
and specific issues still need to be addressed and
rectified. The continuing incarceration without trial
of Islamist terrorist suspects by the USA and the
use of torture techniques such as waterboarding
are obvious examples of human rights abuse
carried out by and in the West. However, the
cultural relativity argument suffers from two major
weaknesses.
1. It ignores the fact that 193 nation-states have
voluntarily joined the United Nations (UN). Only
three nation-states - the Vatican City, Palestine
and Kosovo - are not members (the latter two
because their sovereign status is not recognised
by some UN members and they have been

consequently ‘blocked’ from membership). In
1948, the UN launched the UDHR. This cannot
be described as a Western product because it has
been extensively renegotiated and revised with
input from a range of Western and non-Western
societies. This renegotiation actually led to
some of the original rights, such as the right to
property, being dropped from the UDHR. It also
led to the adoption of the principle that it might
be necessary to set aside or suspend individual
rights in the national interest, especially when
countries are at war. Moreover, most UN
members have signed up to the International
Court of Justice (ICJ or World Court), which
settles legal disputes between UN members.
However, both China and the USA have refused to
accept the legal rulings of the ICJ in recent years.
As Haynes argues, the fact that the vast majority of
countries around the world have signed up to the
UN, UDHR and ICJ weakens the cultural relativist
argument. Nation-states that have agreed to abide
by the UDHR and the judgements of the ICJ cannot
claim the right to pick and choose human rights,
enforcing the ones they like and ignoring those they
do not.
Activity
r_
[ are free of influence from other branches of
m- :
jjh
*i*2 hi*i
The International Court of Justice, which is the
principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN).
Research the type of issues that are dealt with by
the International Court of Justice.
2. The cultural relativity argument sees everything
as a Western construct, but this has not proved
to be very pragmatic in helping nation-states to
identify what counts as a human right or as abuse
of those rights.
8.3 GLOBALISATION. POWER AND POLITICS
Key terms
Liberal democracy A form of nation-state in which
people have the right to vote their leaders in and
out of power.
Representative democracy A type of democracy
founded on the principle of elected officials
representing a group of people.
Full democracy Nations where civil liberties and
basic political freedoms are not only respected,
but also reinforced by a political culture conducive
to the thriving of democratic principles.
Partial or flawed democracies Governments
which demonstrate some accountability to the
people but which may restrict the activities of
some minority groups.
Constitution A body of fundamental principles
or established precedents according to which a
state or other organisation is acknowledged to
be governed.
Executive/government The branch of a
government responsible for putting decisions or
laws into effect.
Legislature/parliament A governing body that
makes laws and can also amend or repeal them.
Independent judiciary Judges and courts which
government or private interests.
Supreme Court The highest judicial court in a
country or state.
Slanderous Making a false spoken statement
damaging to a person’s reputation.
Libellous Making a false written statement
damaging to a person’s reputation.
Universal suffrage The right of almost all adults
to vote in political elections.
Hybrid regimes States in which governments are
elected but in which no opposition parties are
allowed or the media are controlled by elites or in
which political corruption is rife.
Authoritarian states A form of government
characterised by strong central power and limited
political or individual freedoms.
Oligarchy Rule by a few.
Fascist An extreme right-wing movement which
is anti-democratic and believes in rule by a
totalitarian one-party state.
Pluralism A condition or system in which a
multiplicity of competing political parties coexist.
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S GLOBALISATION
Autocracy Dictatorship or a system of government
by one person with absolute power.
Politburo The principal policy-making committee
of a communist party.
Propaganda Information, especially of a biased
or misleading nature, used to promote a political
cause or point of view.
Command economy A system where the
government, rather than the free market,
determines how the economy should be
planned and managed. It is a key feature of any
communist society.
Market-Leninist Slang for the Chinese way of
managing the economy - a mixture of a central
planned economy with the tolerance of some free
market capitalism.
Coup d’etat The sudden, often violent and
undemocratic overthrow of a government, often by
the military.
Apartheid An official system of racial segregation
administered by the White minority government of
South Africa between 1948 and 1994.
Theocracy A system of government in which
priests, ayatollahs or a divinely ordained ruler
govern in the name of God or a god.
Wahhabi A strictly orthodox Sunni Muslim sect
which is still the predominant religious force in
Saudi Arabia.
Sovereignty The authority of a state to govern
itself or another state.
Bureaucratic A system of government in which
most of the important decisions are taken by
state officials or civil servants rather than by
elected politicians.
Patriotism National loyalty or vigorous support
for one’s country.
Nationalism Extreme form of patriotism marked
by a feeling of superiority over other countries.
Existential security The feeling that survival is
secure enough that it can be taken for granted.
Social integration The process during which
newcomers or minorities are incorporated into the
social structure of the host society.
Demonisation Negative stereotyping of a
particular social group.
Entitlement With regard to human rights, the idea
that the state should provide its people with basic
rights - for example, the right to education.
504
Equality With regard to human rights, the idea
that all citizens, regardless of social background,
should have the right to be treated equally.
Civil rights The rights of citizens to political and
social freedom and equality.
Religious rights The freedom to exercise particular
religious beliefs and practices without persecution
or to change religious beliefs and practices.
Political rights The right to vote for any political
party without fear of discrimination.
Social rights Another term for socio-economic
rights such as the right to an education or an
adequate standard of living or justice.
Non-government organisations (NGOs) Any
organisation or agency that is not financed by
government or which works outside state control.
Cash crops A crop produced for its commercial
value, to be exported rather than for domestic use
by the grower - for example, tea, coffee, cocoa.
Transnational companies (TNCs) Multinational
companies which produce, market and sell
products across the world.
Pluriverse An idea associated with Esteva - he
claims that there is no such thing as universal
human experience. Instead, he argues that there
are countless cultural ways in which people live in
relation to others.
Cultural relativity The idea that, because different
cultures have differing reference points, it is not
appropriate to judge all societies according to one
universal standard.
Summary
1. The world has experienced political
globalisation. Most countries in the world
are nation-states that practise liberal or
i representative democracy.
2. However, not all nation-states are full
democracies. A substantial minority are partial
or hybrid democracies, because they lack some
of the features necessary to qualify as proper
democracies.
3. About a third of nation-states are authoritarian
or totalitarian regimes which deny their people
the right to vote in free elections. These regimes
are ruled by either communist, military or
theocratic autocrats or oligarchies.

4. Most citizens of the world belong to specific
independent nation-states which exercise
sovereignty over given physical territories.
However, such states are becoming increasingly
interconnected and interdependent because
of the processes of political, economic and
ecological globalisation.
5. Most nation-states are committed to protecting
the human rights of their citizens, although there
is no overall agreement on how rights should be
defined.
Unit 0.3.2 Global social
movements and
attempts to oppose
globalisation
Elizabeth Bennett (201 2) defines global social
movements (GSMs) as ‘networks that collaborate
across borders to advance thematically similar
agendas throughout the world’ She argues that GSMs
have consequently become powerful actors in global
governance. David Held et al. argue that such GSMs are
increasingly important in a globalised world because
liberal-democratic nation-states are struggling to cope
with the consequences of globalisation, particularly with
the ecological-environmental crisis, and the dislocation
and potential conflict associated with global migration.
Held et al. suggest that there have been three
sociological reactions to these crises and threats:
1. Liberal internationalists argue that nation-states
i
and non-government global organisations such
as the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade
Organization (WTO) need to be reformed, because
at the moment they favour global processes which
are creating problems for the poor and powerless
in both more and less industrialised societies.
2. Radical critics stress the need for the creation of
alternative mechanisms of global, social, economic
and political organisation. This radical approach
foresees a major role for GSMs based on the
idea of equality, common good and harmony
with the natural environment. It argues that such
movements can act as a ‘politics of resistance*
and have the potential to empower ordinary
citizens in both more and less industrialised
8.3 GLOBALISATION. POWER AND POLITICS
societies. Radicals argue that GSMs can encourage
a sense of belonging to a global community. The
hope is that membership of such movements will
result in people developing a global consciousness
that will motivate them to form ‘communities of
fate’. These will challenge individualism and other
negative aspects of globalisation so that ordinary
citizens can take back some control over their own
lives from these global forces.
3. The cosmopolitan approach takes a more positive
approach to globalisation. It argues that the
nation-state is a thing of the past and that people
need to realise that they are now citizens of the
world. This rather optimistic approach suggests
that most of us are capable of successfully
negotiating a path between the global and the
local or between the modern and the traditional, to
become hybridised global citizens taking the best
from the local and the global.
Defining social movements
In order to understand the nature of GSMs, Cohen
and Kennedy (2000) argue that it is important
to understand how social movements differ from
conventional political organisations such as political
parties, pressure groups and trade unions.
John Wilson (1973) defines a social movement as
a conscious, collective and organised attempt to
bring about or to resist large-scale change in the
social order by non-institutionalised means. He
observes that social movements often comprise both
‘heroes and clowns, fanatics and fools...animated by
the injustice and anxieties they see around them’.
Members of such movements often see themselves
as on a crusade against the evils of society.
Paul Byrne (1997) claimed that social movements
have unique features in that:
» They often act in unpredictable ways.
1 They are seen as irrational because members
are not acting in their own self-interest. They are
altruistic - working for the common good.
> They are often seen or interpreted as unreasonable
because members may not feel constrained by law.
They may feel justified in engaging in anti-social or
illegal action.
1 They look disorganised because they do not display
the classic features of organisations - hierarchies,
bureaucracies and formality. The activities of their
members may seem emotional rather than objective.
505
 8 GLOBALISATION
Cyrus Zirakzadeh (2007) observes that members of
social movements come from a very broad range of
social backgrounds. They are comfortable with using
disruptive tactics that bring them into confrontation with
the agents of social control such as the police, because
they are consciously committed to replacing traditional
ways of doing things with radical change.
Activity
What sort of ‘disruptive tactics’ might social
movements use, and in what ways might these be
successful?
Global social movements
Cohen and Kennedy argue that most global social
movements evolved between the 1960s and 1990s.
They argue that the social movements visible in the
1960s were internationalist in that they maintained
links with other social movements abroad., Most of
these social movements focused on ‘emancipatory
politics’ - issues that reach beyond the boundaries
of a particular nation-state such as women’s rights,
international capitalism, civil rights, anti-war, racism
and environmental issues.
Another source of social movements, particularly
in the 1960s, were the counter-cultures or student
protest movements which emerged in both the USA
and Europe in 1968. These movements were mainly
focused on protesting the USA’s military presence
in Vietnam. For example, in 1968, serious protests
mainly led by student demonstrators broke out against
the Vietnam War in Paris, London, Berlin and Tokyo
as well as across the USA. In the 1970s and 1980s,
student social movements also focused on rejecting
the authority and materialism they associated with
their parents’ generation and supporting nuclear
disarmament. They often questioned the moral
authority of the capitalist system.
Police fire tear gas to control student riots in Paris, 1968.
506
According to Cohen and Kennedy, social movements
became global in the late 1990s for five broad reasons:
1. The spread of higher education in many more
industrialised societies enabled people to
become more knowledgeable about science and
technology. They became more aware that they
were living in what Ulrich Beck calls 'risk societies’
- that industry, science and technology were
increasing risks and threats to the eco-systems in
which they lived and even the future of humanity
and the planet. Many responded to their fears
about the threats posed to the environment
by nuclear technology, chemical, nuclear and
biological weaponry and genetically modified
crops by getting involved in non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) such as Friends of the Earth
and Greenpeace.
2. The 1990s saw the emergence of new forms of
communication technology, particularly satellite
television, the internet and personal laptop
computers. Manjunath Pendakur and Roma Harris
(2002) argue that the development of the internet
and laptop computers enabled small, traditionally
powerless groups to become ‘self-creative’ social
movements. It particularly gave them the ability
to produce and circulate their own literature
which challenged the versions of reality issued by
the more powerful groups that were suppressing
or exploiting them. It also meant that atrocities
committed against powerless groups could be
communicated almost immediately.
The internet, in particular, was probably the
reason why global social movements became so
popular in the late 1990s. This was because, as a
public sphere that anybody could access at no or
little cost, it provided those interested in global
issues the opportunity to access a wide range of
information and alternative interpretations and
viewpoints, which were unlikely to be found in the
conventional mainstream media.
Michael Itzoe (1995) observes that in the
1990s the internet was 'a loose and anarchic
confederation of millions of users around the world
who communicated in perhaps the freest forum
of speech in history’. It was particularly useful in
establishing what the neo-Marxist Castells (1996)
calls the 'network society’ (see Unit 8.2.1 for a
more detailed discussion of this).
Castells argues that in late-modern capitalist society
the emergence of this network society transformed
the nature of communication. Information which
 8.3 GLOBALISATION. POWER AND POLITICS

had once been the exclusive resource of the the lack of progress they were making in terms of
powerful and which had previously flowed top-down, improving human rights and eradicating poverty
now flowed horizontally - many to many rather and debt. They realised that they lacked the power
than from a few to the many. The networked society to influence nation-states, who often ignored
placed power in the hands of the people and gave their demands for change. In the 1990s, several
voice to groups such as the poor, the politically NCOs, including Oxfam, Action Aid, Amnesty
repressed, women, ethnic minorities, the LGBT International, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace,
community and oppressed groups in other countries aligned themselves with the anti-globalisation
who might otherwise have gone unheard. movement. These NGOs gave the movement both
political and moral legitimacy and the NGOs’
These technological developments meant that
research departments were able to provide the
global networks evolved - made up of loose
movement with facts that helped them to mobilise
alliances between anarchists, socialists, feminists,
resources, campaigns and protests more effectively.
environmentalists and anti-poverty campaigners -
who were able to compile and share online
information about the effects of globalisation on
the economies of developing nations, particularly in Activity
Africa, which could be quickly distributed to both the
global media, and used to challenge the status quo.
These global networks eventually united into what
became known as the anti-globalisation movement.
*>'
Mark Engler (2008) notes that the existence of
this movement is disputed by some sociologists
because it includes such a diverse range of
groups subscribing to a selection of sometimes
contradictory ideological views. For example,
it includes trade unionists, environmentalists,
anarchists, land rights and indigenous rights
activists, organisations promoting human rights
and sustainable development, opponents of
privatisation, and anti-sweat-shop campaigners.
However, Engler argues that these groups do
constitute a movement because they share the
view that the policies of corporate globalisation
have exacerbated global poverty and increased Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise ship protesting against
global inequality. Moreover, despite their Arctic oil production.
ideological differences, these groups annually
Research the range of issues, activities and
gather to coordinate policy and action. The
campaigns that the following groups are involved
World Social Forum serves as a site for activist
in: Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Amnesty
networking and for the coordination of campaigns
International, Oxfam and the World Social Forum.
which target transnational corporations. They have ,
Are these global or localised issues?
also mobilised anti-war rallies against military
intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan and protests
outside the meetings of global institutions such as
4. However, the digital revolution that occurred
the World Trade Organization, the International
post-2000 symbolised by the rapid spread of
Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the G7
social media has probably been the biggest
(previously G8, a gathering of leaders of the seven
influence on the growing influence of global social
most economically powerful nation-states).
movements, and especially the anti-globalisation
3. The impact of the anti-globalisation movement in sector. Most social movements maintain their
the 1990s was made more effective by the decision own websites, which allow them to campaign
of many NGOs to line up with and support the and influence public opinion on the specific issue
aims of the anti-globalisation movement. In the they have formed around, and to put pressure
1980s, many NGOs were becoming frustrated at on nation-states through, for example, online

507
 8 GLOBALISATION
petitions. Such websites also act as a recruiting
tool. Furthermore, hacker groups affiliated to
the anti-globalisation movement (known as
‘hacktivists’), such as Anonymous, have defaced
corporate and government websites and engaged
in virtual sabotage such as web-sit-ins (sending
so much information to a site so that it crashes),
email bombing, and information theft, especially
computer code theft.
Activity
‘Global social movements have encouraged ordinary
people to believe that they can have influence over
global issues’. Evaluate this point of view.
Contemporary issues: Twitter as a revolutionary tool of social change
THIS iS OUR COUNTRY
ffiffiMssasB
r people protesting in the streets). Murthy also notes
WE ARE THE
99%
OCCUPY TOGETHER
Occupy protesters outside the Reichstag in Berlin.
Murthy (2013) empirically investigated the impact
of Twitter on political change (see also Unit 6.3.2).
He claims that Twitter, which has 149 million
users worldwide, has proved extremely useful as
a coordinator of street protests and that it also
played a significant role in attracting support to
Occupy - an international socio-political movement
against social and economic inequality and the
lack of ‘real democracy’ around the world. In
2011, Occupy campaigners literally occupied
areas in 951 cities across 82 countries. For
example, the movement engaged in a high-profile
occupation of the financial centre of New York -
Wall Street.
Murthy also argues that Twitter played an
important role in the Arab Spring movements which
spread across the Middle East and North Africa
between 2011 and 2012. First, he argues that
Twitter was particularly effective in the Egyptian
508
Moreover, the development of social media
platforms and apps in the last 10 years means
that images of war crimes or atrocities can be
uploaded to media organisations and global
subscribers in real time, thus mobilising effective
support and putting pressure on the international
political community to criticise or to take action
in the form of sanctions against nation-states
guilty of abusing human rights. This has led to
some sociologists claiming that social media are
powerful tools of social change - for example,
that Twitter and Facebook played a major role in
the Arab Spring movement between 2010 and
201A and which led to the fall of authoritarian
regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
protests that ousted President Mubarak in 2012,
because it enabled a mass movement of people to
go out onto the streets (although Murthy notes that
high unemployment, persistent poverty and police
brutality were probably the main motivations for
that both the internet and Twitter were regarded
by the Egyptian authorities as so threatening in
their dissemination of activist information that they
were shut down for a week by the government in
January 2011. Second, Murthy argues that Twitter
helped to bring international attention to what was
going on by acting as a valuable news source for
international journalists.
He concludes that, ‘even if tweets did not bring
feet to Egyptian streets, they helped to facilitate
a diverse global network of individuals who
participated in a wide-ranging set of mobilisation
efforts from the retweeters in Starbucks to those
sending letters to their Congresspeople/Ministers
or participating in activist movements both online
and offline’.
Murthy argues that Twitter as a communications
medium has the potential to shape many aspects of
people’s social, political and economic lives. However,
not all media sociologists agree. Radio Free Europe’s
Golnaz Esfandiari (2010) has reviewed the role of
social media in the coordination of street protests
in Iran in 2009. Western journalists were allegedly
astounded at the sudden influx of information
coming out of Iran via Twitter, which was unusual in
the light of the media blackout ordered by the Iranian

government. This prompted Western journalists to
dub the protests the Twitter Revolution’. However.
Esfandiari claims that opposition activists rarely used
Twitter and that they preferred to use text messages,
email and blogs. He argues that most Twitter posts
were probably planted by foreign intelligence
agencies, particularly the American CIA. He supports
this argument by pointing out that most Twitter posts
were in English rather than Farsi. Esfandiari observes
that 'no one seemed to wonder why people trying to
coordinate protests in Iran would be writing in any
language other than Farsi’
5. Zsuzsa Hegedus (1989) suggests that the media
attention that the anti-globalisation movement
received in its early form resulted in a mental
shift among young people as they realised that
their localised concerns were inextricably linked
to wider global structures and problems. In other
words, what threatens or concerns one person
wherever they are in the world equally threatens
everyone else in the long term. Hegedus claims
that the anti-globalisation movement led to a
'planetization of understanding’ that ‘virtually
everything needed to be radically rethought’
(p. 299 of Cohen and Kennedy, 2000). He
observed that supporters of the anti-globalisation
movement were often very personally committed
Contemporary issues: Anti-globalisation movements
Make Poverty History march, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Cohen and Kennedy argue that social movements
such as the anti-globalisation movement may be
more effective in bringing about social and global
change than nation-states because:
8.3 GLOBALISATION. POWER AND POLITICS
Source: The Twitter Devolution’ 08/06/2010,
https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/06/08/the-twitter-
devolution/.
Questions
1. Analyse the role of Twitter in mobilising and
coordinating protest movements in Iran and
during the Arab Spring.
2. Using information from this source and the
section on social movements, assess the idea that
the internet, social media and the social network
society are good for liberal democracies.
to a collective future at a local, national and
planetary level. In other words, they believe that
solutions are only meaningful if they involve
joint struggles.
Moreover, as our cultural, media and economic
life has become globalised and interconnected, it
is now possible for individuals who are conscious
of global inequality because of their involvement
with the anti-globalisation movement to engage
with and influence the behaviour of transnational
companies - for example, via ethical or green
consumerism or by boycotting goods produced
made by companies which have acquired a poor
global reputation.
» They do not promote narrow territorial or
national interests. They are not constrained by
patriotism or nationalism.
* They are not slowed down by the formality of
diplomacy.
1 They are not responsible for the problems they
are attempting to resolve.
1 They generally attract lots of public support,
especially from the young and educated, as well
as the disadvantaged and the poor.
1 They are in touch with ordinary people.
1 They are not weighed down by bureaucracy and
regulations.
1 They have diverse memberships and can mobilise
support at many levels.
509
 8 GLOBALISATION
However, Cohen and Kennedy also identify several
factors that may inhibit the activities of social
movements. These include:
* They often have limited funds.
> They may have to engage in stunts in order to
attract media attention.
> People living in other parts of the world may
interpret their activities as patronising.
> Cultural and language barriers may impede their
effectiveness.
The critique of global social movements
Most of the criticism focused on global social
movements has focused on their use of digital
technology and especially the idea that such
technology would democratise society. Marxists, for
example, argue that this technology is concentrated
in the hands of a very small number of capitalist
transnational corporations and individuals who exert
greater power and influence than any individual
consumer or even network of anti-globalists.
Political elite power-holders, such as government
departments and agencies, and the security services,
have also seen the power of new media delivery
systems and have constructed sophisticated and
elaborate websites to make sure their view of the
world dominates the internet. The ex-CIA analyst
Edward Snowden claimed in 2015 that the British
security services have the technology to access
private information stored on people’s smartphones.
Moreover, authoritarian states such as China and
Iran have built firewalls to prevent their populations
accessing the internet and viewing subversive
material that criticises their leaders.
Keen (2008) is very critical of the
democratic potential of the internet, which he
claims is actually chaotic in practice. He claims
that it has no governing moral code and that it is a
place where truth is selective and frequently subject
to change. Four criticisms can be made of the idea
that social media are sources of political literacy
and that they have inspired the growth of social
movements that aim to bring about radical social and
political change:
» Keen believes that the internet has actually
replaced genuine knowledge with the ‘wisdom
of the crowd’, which dangerously blurs the lines
between fact and opinion and between informed
argument and blustering speculation/gossip.
510
Questions
1. Consider the list of advantages of social
movements over nation-states listed by Cohen
and Kennedy and, after class discussion, rank
them in terms of importance.
2. Why might people living in other societies and
cultures regard the activities of social movements
as patronising, especially with regard to
human rights?
> Nick Rochlin (2017) believes that the ubiquity of
social media means that many societies have now
entered into a post-truth era in which facts and
evidence have been replaced by personal belief and
emotion. He argues that the nature of news, and
what people accept as news, is also shifting toward
a belief-and emotion-based market. The truth of
the story no longer matters. What matters is that
the story falls in line with what a person wants
to hear. Facts are now often written off as ‘fake
news’; that is, news that is seen to attack a person’s
pre-existing beliefs.
> Social networking sites and blogs do not
contribute to the democratic process in any way
because they are merely a means for narcissistic
self-broadcasting. Keen claims they exist purely for
individuals to indulge in shameless self-promotion
and to promote conspiracy theories.
> User-generated sites such as Wikipedia are open to
abuse and bias, and are consequently unreliable as
sources of information.
Key terms
Politics of resistance A form of collective civil
disobedience aimed at opposing the effects of
economic, political and ecological globalisation.
Communities of fate Protest movements, such
as environmentalism, in which members attempt
to shape their own futures through active
participation and dialogue.
Cosmopolitan An ideology which states
that all human beings belong to a single
global community.
Altruistic Working selflessly for the good of the
community rather than for oneself.