The Crisis of the European Social Model in the Adverse Environment of Globalization

This paper examines the apparently adverse environment for the viability of the European Social Model (ESoM) and identifies the main factors relevant to the consolidation of the model. It first looks back at the way in which social issues have been dealt with by European Union (EU) institutions, then seeks to identify the main internal and external challenges facing the ESoM. The crisis and the exit strategy initially adopted in the EU (based on austerity policies) compounded these challenges and threatened the model. An interpretation of this crossroads and the foreseeable scenarios for the model are presented under alternative hypotheses with and without specific EU intervention. This paper adopts the globalization theory of the welfare state. Accordingly, its main hypothesis is that unless decisive action is taken by EU institutions the ESoM faces progressive erosion or dilution in a globalized economy. JEL Classification: I38, H53, F60, F15, F68

Parallelization: the Fourth Leg of Cultural Globalization Theory

Extending Pieterse’s (1996) tripartite cultural globalization theory consisting of homogenization, hybridization and polarization, the current article outlines a set of exemplifications and justifications of a fourth theoretical underpinning labeled parallelization. The theory implies that at a global scale, crucial events that appear paradoxical or contradictory occur at the same time, such as carbon emissions due to growth-fixated global capitalism, while the causes of carbon emissions lead to greater resilience against the consequences of carbon emissions as wealth accumulates. Other examples discussed are large-scale migration flows which lead to increased segregation in host societies while integration of migrants occur as a parallel process; secularization visa-à-vis the resurgence of religions; clear indications of that the biological component of cognitive abilities decreases due to fertility patterns in many locations around the globe, while the IQ test scores have risen as a consequence of various environmental factors.

Two Limitations of Globalization Theory

Although globalization theories have flourished over the last four decades, they are still struggling to overcome some of their long-standing limitations. After an initial discussion of influential mappings of globalization theories that frame the discussion of their shortcomings, this article takes up two persistent limitations. First, major concepts of globalization theory still lack definitional precision as well as clear analytical and historical delineation. The article addresses these problems by reexamining four core concepts of globalization theory. The ensuing exercise in conceptual clarification draws on Raymond Williams’s pioneering approach to “keywords.” The second limitation concerns the slowness with which many globalization theorists have included pertinent keywords outside familiar meaning orbits. The article argues for an expansion of the core vocabulary of globalization theory to achieve a more systemic integration of new keywords, especially from postcolonial and environmental theory. Overcoming these two persistent limitations of globalization theory depends on the success of a number of critical measures proposed in this article.

Mediascapes of Japanese Culture in Chinese Drama Series: Adaptations of Zhao Qianqian works

Globalization has encouraged the enhancement of media, so that various kinds of information are accessible. Hence, Japan is utilizing media to promote their pop culture globally. One of the countries whose media is influenced by Japanese pop culture is China. This study aims to determine the mediascapes of Japanese pop culture in Chinese drama series, specifically the ones that are adapted from Zhao Qianqian’s works; A Love So Beautiful (2017) and Put Your Head on Your Shoulder (2019). Theory used in this study is mediascapes–one of the five dimensions in Arjun Appadurai’s disjuncture globalization theory. The method of this research is descriptive analysis with qualitative approach. This study shows that mediascapes of Japanese pop culture can be identified through images of some anime characters that appear in A Love So Beautiful and Put Your Head on My Shoulder drama series. These images are shown to attract Chinese people’s interest of Japanese pop culture as well as to construct the idea of Japan’s positive image.

Forces of Development: Globalisation, Civil Societies, and NGOs in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Narratives

This paper looks at globalization, civil societies and their extensions, NGOs, as forces of development within the contemporary global era through the prism of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun, The Thing Around Your Neck and Americanah. In these texts, the above forces have eroded both ideological and geopolitical boundaries for the betterment of humanity. The centrality of the state, with regards to state development, has been questioned by civil society activism. Civil society agencies, especially, NGOs, the paper posits, have become players in governance−an activity generally reserved for the state. The paper views the flux in state and civil society borders as a part of the shifts in the borders of most of the once outstanding binary pairs−the west and the non-west, the whites and the blacks, as well as the rich and the poor. These are positive shifts that are integral to the present mix in which humanity now exists. The works I analyze market this blend in that Adichie’s characters, no matter where they find themselves, move away from fixed ways of doing things and get connected with the supposed others for humanistic purposes. Globalization theory is used to underline the extent to which the ‘self’ and ‘other’ concepts disappear when it comes to development issues in the postcolony. The paper seeks to answer two basic questions, namely; is the proliferation of civil societies, especially NGOs, the result of the globalization phenomenon or the cause of the globalization process? How has globalization, civil societies and NGOs developed Nigeria, in particular, and Africa in general? It premises the civil society as a trajectory of the globalisation process with a positive outcome from the perspective that its various forms have encouraged and facilitated the spread of humanitarian considerations for the purpose of development.