Welcome

The Contemporary World

University of Antique
Sibalom, Antique
November 15, 2018
 Course description
• This course introduces students to the contemporary
world by examining the multifaceted phenomenon of
globalization. Using the various disciplines of the social
sciences, it examines the economic, social, political,
technological, and other transformations that have
created an increasing awareness of the
interconnectedness of the people and places around the
globe. To this end, the course provides an overview of
the various debates in global governance, development,
and sustainability. Beyond exposing the student to the
world outside the Philippines, it seeks to inculcate a
sense of global citizenship and global ethical
responsibility.
Finland Sweden
China

USA South Korea

Philippines

Taiwan
 Introductory
• Why do you need to study the
World?
 the world as a concept is abstract.
 daily experiences are considered
interactions of your world.
OFWs – bringing part of the world with
them
Media and internet are windows to
contemporary world i.e. watching
American movies, singing K-pop songs,
consumption habits is global (McDonald,
other products…)
 Objectives:
• The succeeding lessons will:
 introduce the major themes in the
study of the world and connecting
opportunities to connect your knowledge
with your experiences as Filipinos.
Studying the outside world is a cure for
parochialism or an outlook that is limited
to one’s immediate community
Teach more about yourself allowing you
to compare with other societies;
You will be interacting with it and be
aware of this interdependence.
Familiarize students with the principles
and central ideas, important
globalization theories that they are
likely to encounter in the Social Science
discipline;
Demystify the concept of globalization
and help students see the application of
global structures and processes in their
every activities;
Help students become more systematic
and thoughtful critical thinkers;
• Provide students with an overview
and brief history of how
globalization as an intellectual topic
that is developing.
• Addresses this challenge by offering
readable and practical guide that
integrate contents with examples;
• Takes incremental approach in
learning about globalization, resulting
in a thoughtful and appropriate
learning pace.
 DEFINING GLOBALIZATION
Much has changed since time immemorial;
“Globalization is a very important change, if
not, “the most important” (Bauman, 2013).
 The omnipresence of globalization we refer it
as “global age”(Albrow, 1996).
 The presence of internet by simply browsing
google as well as mass media allows us for
connecting people, communities, and
countries all over the world.
 WHAT IS
GLOBALIZATION?
 The G-World

Globalization first used in 1959

The noun appears in the Oxford English dictionary

in 1962

But three decades passed before

GLOBALIZATION was developed in social sciences
as a paradigm

1992 Roland Robertson

 Globalization is applied to almost everything

“the most abused word of the 21st century”

(The Economist)

Globalization is both a discursive and a descriptive

concept – how we understand Globalization
has much to do with our political views and
theoretical standing

Globalization is a terrain of conflicting discourses

 FAQ about GLOBALIZATION

1. Is globalization new or old?

2. Is globalization good or bad?

3. Is globalization really “global”

or inclusive of all people?
 Some definitions …

“Globalization is the intensification

of worldwide social relations which
links distant localities in such a way
that local happenings are shaped
by events occurring many miles
away and vice versa.”

Anthony Giddens
 Some definitions …

“Globalization as a concept
refers both to the compression
of the world and the
intensification of the
consciousness of the world as a
whole.”

Roland Robertson
 Some definitions …
Globalization may be thought of as a
process … which embodies a
transformation in the spatial organization
of social relations and transactions …
generating transcontinental or
interregional flows and networks of
activity, interaction, and the exercise of
power.
David Held
 Globalization
(Manfred Steger)
• Expansion refers to “both the
The expansion and creation of new social networks
intensification of social relations and the multiplication of existing
and consciousness across world- connections that cut across
time and across world-space. traditional political, economic,
cultural, and geographical
boundaries.

• Intensification refers to the

expansion, stretching, and
acceleration of these networks.
Not only are global connections
multiply but they are also
becoming more closely-knit and
expanding their reach.
 Globalization
Roland Robertson (1992)

• Globalization as a • The key dynamics at

concept refers to both play here are global
the compression of the interconnectedness and
world and the global consciousness.
intensification of
consciousness of the
world as a whole.
• “Globalization means the onset of
the borderless world (Ohmae
1992).”- this is an example of a
broad and inclusive type of
definition because it includes a
variety of issues that deal with
overcoming traditional
boundaries.
• According to Robert Cox “the characteristics of
Globalization trend include the
internationalizing of production, the new
international division of labor, new migratory
movements from North to South, the new
competitive environment that accelerate
these processes, and the internationalizing of
the state…making states into the agencies of
the globalizing world.”-cited in RAWOO Netherlands
Development Assistance Council,2000.
• “Globalization is a transplanetary process or a
set of processes involving increasing liquidity
and the growing multi-directional flows of
people, objects, places and information as well
as the structures they encounter and create
that are barriers to, or expedite those flows.”
(Ritzer, 2015)
 In General…..
• Over-all, globalization is a concept that
is not easy to define, because in reality,
it has a shifting nature.
• It is complex, multi-faceted, and can be
influenced by the people who define it;
• Issues and concerns have a wide-range –
from individual to society, from small
communities to nation and states, and
from the benefits we can gain from it to
the cost it could carry.
 Globalization involves twin processes:

• the physical process of

interconnectedness, or
‘compression’, which  A process has a very long-
implies that the world is term history given that it
getting smaller refers to an evolutionary
process of becoming
• the awareness that we as rather than an actual
individuals have of our state of affairs.
relationship to the world
as a single place.
Activity: The World Made
Closer

In this activity, you are to see

the actual application of
globalization on the different
aspects of daily life such as
politics, music, sports, film,
celebrity, and disaster.
1. Answer the following:
a. Enumerate at least 3 of
the most recent songs you
have listened. Where did
they originate? Identify
the nationality of the
writer and/ or artist for
each music.
b. What gadget or devices do you
usually use to listen to music?
c. Where these gadgets or devices
made? Where is the company
based?
d. How did you access the music?
Did you purchase them on line or
listen them through YouTube,
Spotify, and other music
channels?
Globalism means a conscious
process of globalization or a set
of policies designed specifically to
effect greater global rather than
international interactions.
 Schema of Globalization
Hyper-globalist Skeptics Transformationalists

Globalization … reordering of the … … reordering of

defined as … framework of internationalization inter-regional
human action and regionalization relations and action
at a distance

Globalization driven … capitalism and … states and markets … combined forces

by … technology of modernity
Globalization results … a global … regional blocs, … great global
in … civilization, a global state-controlled interconnectedness
free market internationalization, and the
economy possible clash of transformation of
civilizations world political
institutions

Nation-state power … declining or … reinforced or … reconstituted or

is … eroding enhanced restructured
Source: Adapted from David Held et al. (1999:10)
Metaphors of
globalization
• The epochs that preceded today’s
globalization paved way for
people, things, information, and
places to harden over time.
Consequently, they have limited
mobility (Ritzer, 2015).
• The social relationships and
objects remained where they
were created.
 Solidity
• Refers to the barriers that prevent or
make difficult the movement of things;
• Solids can either be natural or man-made
(i.e. natural solids are land forms and
bodies of water; man-made barriers
include the Great Wall of China and the
Berlin Wall; an imaginary line such as
nine-dash line used by China in their claim
of South China Sea- is an example of
modern man-made solid.
 Liquidity
• As a state of matter, takes the shape of
its container;
• Are not fixed;
• Refers to increasing ease of movement
of people, things, information, and places
in the contemporary world;
• Zygmunt Bauman’s said about liquidity of
globalization, that today’s liquid
phenomena change quickly and their
aspects, spatial and temporal, are in
continuous fluctuation.
• This means that space and time are
crucial elements of globalization (i.e. in
global finance changes in the stock
market are a matter of seconds;
• Their movement is difficult to stop –
i.e. videos uploaded on Youtube or
Facebook are unstoppable once they
are viral (internet sensations become
famous globally);
• Finally, the forces (the liquid ones)
made political boundaries to the flow
of people and things (Cartier,2001).
• This brings us to what Ritzer
(2015,p.6) regarded
globalization as the most
important liquid : “it tends to
melt whatever stands in its
path (especially solid).” The
clearest example is the
decline, if not death of the
nation-state.
 Flows
• Liquid flows of phenomena – flows are
the movement of people, things, places,
and information brought by growing
porosity of global limitations (Ritzer,
2015). i.e. think of a different foreign
cuisines being patronized and consumed
by Filipinos. Aside from local dishes, many
of use are fond of eating sushi, ramen,
hamburger and French fries – foods
introduced by foreign cultures.
origins and history of
globalization
 Hardwired
• According to Nayan Chanda (2007), “it
is because of our basic need to make
our lives better that made globalization
possible”; he further said that
commerce, religion, politics, and
warfare are the “urges’ of people
toward better life which are
respectively connect to four aspects of
globalization and they can be traced
throughout history: trade, missionary
work, adventures and conquest.
 CYCLES
• For some, globalization is a
long-term cyclical process and
thus, finding its origin will be
a daunting task;
• There is also a notion to
suspect that this point of
globalization disappear and
reappear.
 Epoch
• Six great epochs of
globalization; these are also
called “waves” and each has
its own origin.
• The difference of this view
from the second view is that
it does not treat epochs as
returning.
 Sequential occurrence of
Epochs
1.Globalization of Religion (fourth to
seventh centuries)
2.European colonial conquests (late 15th
Century)
3.Intra-European Wars (late 18th to 19th
Century)
4.Heyday of European Imperialism (mid-
19th century to 1918)
5.Post-World War II Period
6.Post-Cold War Period
 EVENTS
• Gibbon (1998) – argued that Roman
conquests for centuries before Christ
were its origin;
• Magazine, the Economist (2006, Jan.12)
– considered the rampage of the armies
of Genghis Khan into Eastern Europe in
the 13th century;
• Rosenthal (2007) – gave premium to
voyages of discovery (Columbus discovery
of America in 1442, Vasco de Gama in
Cape of Good Hope in 1498, and
Ferdinand Magellan’s completed
circumnavigation in 1522.
 EVENTS…cont.
• Recent years – specific
technological advances in
transportation and communication -
i.e. transatlantic telephone
cable(1956); transatlantic
television broadcasts (1962); the
founding of internet (1988);
terrorist attacks on the Twin
Towers in New York (2001).
 Broader, More Recent
Changes
• Recent changes comprised the fifth view
that happened in the last half of Twentieth
Century that brought notable changes as the
origin of globalization that we know today:
1. The emergence of US as global power (Post-
WWII)
2. The emergence of Multi-National
Corporations (MNCs)
3. The demise of Soviet Union and the end of
Cold War
 Periods of Globalization
(Five waves of globalization)
• The first wave of globalization
is as old as human civilization.
For more than five thousand
years human beings from
different places have interacted,
mostly through trade, migration,
and conquest.
 Second Wave
• The second wave of
globalization is closely
associated with the Western
European conquest of Asia, Latin
America, and Africa and the
spread of capitalism to these
areas.
 Third Wave
• The third wave of globalization,
which began around 1870 and
declined around 1914, was marked
by breakthroughs in technological
development, the global production of
primary commodities as well as
manufactured products, and mass
migration.
 Fourth Wave
• The fourth wave of globalization, from
1945 to 1980, was spurred by the retreat of
nationalism and protectionism and the
strengthening of internationalism and global
cooperation, led by the United States. The
removal of trade barriers was selective, but
institutions – such as the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund, and the General
Agreement of Tariff and Trade (GATT) – were
formed to encourage global trade and
development.
 Fifth Wave
• The fifth wave of globalization,
which is the current period, is
characterized by unprecedented
interdependence among nations
and the explosive growth of
powerful actors.
 ASPECTS OF GLOBALIZATION
(Forms)

1. ECONOMIC
2. TECHNOLOGICAL
3. CULTURAL
4. POLITICAL
5. MILITARY
6. CRIMINAL

THESE ASPECTS ARE ALL INTERCONNECTED!

 Forms of Globalization
1. Economic Globalization 2. Political globalization is
may be defined as the the proliferation of
intercontinental international and
exchange of products, regional organizations
services, and labor. composed of states and
Multinational the spread of non-state
corporations have been political actors.
instrumental in
globalization of both
production and
distribution networks.
 Forms of Globalization
3. Military globalization 4. Cultural globalization
is characterized by refers to the spread of
extensive as well as one culture across
intensive networks of national borders
military force that
operate
internationally.
 Forms of Globalization
5. Environmental 6. Criminal globalization
globalization refers to is the intercontinental
the interdependence spread of global crime
of countries to work and its impact on
together to solve governments and
environmental individuals.
problems.
 Arjun Appadurai
For anthropologist Arjun Appadurai, different
kinds of globalization occur on multiple and
intersecting dimensions of integration that he calls
scapes.
• Ethnoscape refers to the global movement of
people
• Mediascape is about the flow of culture
• Technoscape refers to the circulation of
mechanical goods and software
• Financescape denotes the global circulation of
money
• Ideoscape is the realm where political ideas move
around.
Criminal case vs Duterte filed before
International Criminal Court

Lawyer Jude Sabio shows

the stamped complaint
he filed before the
International Criminal
Court in The Hague,
Netherlands on
Monday, April 24, 2017.
 MILITARY
GLOBALIZATION
 Global alliances become clear during war time

US alliance with Britain in wars against Afghanistan and Iraq

What about North Korea and its nuclear weapons?

North Korea suggested on April 24, 2017 it will

continue its nuclear weapons tests, saying it will
bolster its nuclear force "to the maximum" in a
"consecutive and successive way at any moment" in
the face of what it calls U.S. aggression and hysteria.

US is the #1 exporter of weapons globally

US is the last on the list of exporters of non-military aid to

the developing world
Global climate change
Exhaustion of natural resources
Sustainable development
GLOBALIZATION EFFECTS
The Physical Environment
Political Organization
 Brain Drain Outsourcing
Capitalism

Economic Factors
Career /work opportunities MNCs
The global scholars and the
elephant
And so these men of Indostan Exceeding stiff and strong,
Disputed loud and long, Though each was partly in the
Each in his own opinion right
And all were in the wrong!
Thank you!