3. The economic dimension of globalization

Economic globalization refers to the intensification and stretching of economic connections across the globe. ‘The economic dimension of globalization’ gives a brief history of the emergence of the global economic order. Towards the end of the Second World War, the Bretton Woods Conference laid the foundations for institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and World Trade Organization. In the 1980s, rising neoliberalism led to the deregulation of financial transactions. Significant developments include the internationalization of trade, the increasing power of transnational corporations, and the enhanced role of international economic institutions. We have recently experienced setbacks like the 2007–10 recession and the slowdown of the Chinese economy.

7. Ideological confrontations over globalization

Debates about globalization are often characterized by rhetoric suggesting it is either ‘a good thing’ or ‘a bad thing’. ‘Ideological confrontations over globalization’ focuses on the assumptions behind these concepts and clashes. Market globalism is underpinned by neoliberal theories which suggested that globalization is both positive and inevitable. Justice globalism has sprung up around the world with various ‘Occupy’-style movements, while religious globalisms seek to mobilize a religious community imagined in global terms in defence of religious values and beliefs thought to be under attack by the forces of secularism and consumerism. Recently, there has been a rise in ‘anti-globalization’ voices in authority from populist movements.

6. The ecological dimension of globalization

‘The ecological dimension of globalization’ examines the impact of the economic, political, and cultural aspects of globalization on ecological issues. Human-made disasters such as Chernobyl, Deepwater Horizon, and the Fukushima meltdown have made an impact described as glocal, in which their effects were not confined within one nation’s borders. Uncontrolled population growth, global warming, and climate change are all accentuated by the process of globalization. Some progress has been made such as at the 2015 Paris climate meeting, but progress is slow. This phase of globalization has severely damaged the environment, and it remains to be seen whether the breaking down of borders will now help us cooperate on a solution.

5. The cultural dimension of globalization

Cultural globalization arises from increased cultural flows across the world. ‘The cultural dimension of globalization’ focuses on the tension between cultural sameness and cultural difference, broadly defining culture as the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of people or society. The globalization of culture is often primarily attributed to international mass media. New technologies such as satellite television and the Internet have created a steady flow of images and messages which have had a strong effect on cultures and communities, profoundly impacting the way people experience their everyday lives. As the world becomes more connected, language diversity is decreasing as more languages become obsolete.

4. The political dimension of globalization

Political globalization refers to the intensification and expansion of political interrelations across the globe. ‘The political dimension of globalization’ raises political issues relating to state sovereignty and the question of whether the nation-state will survive globalization. Growing social, economic, and cultural interconnectedness has facilitated migration in large numbers and permeated borders. Contemporary globalization has put pressure on traditional forms of global governance by fostering the growth of supraterritorial social spaces and institutions that unsettle both familiar political arrangements and cultural traditions. The worldwide intensification of cultural interactions makes greater accommodation and tolerance possible, but it is just as likely to increase political resistance and opposition.

1. What is globalization?

‘What is globalization?’ uses the story of how a lost iPhone turned its American owner into an Internet celebrity in China to illustrate our increased interconnectedness in both embodied and disembodied globalization (safer, faster air travel, and improved digital technology). When searching for a definition of globalization, it helps to distinguish between globalization, globality, and the global imaginary, which is people’s growing consciousness of the world as a single whole. Globalization as a process does not automatically lead to globalization as a condition. It is a complex, uneven set of processes taking place across world-time and world-space. Globalization is about intensifying planetary interconnectivity.

8. The future of globalization

‘The future of globalization’ explores three possible scenarios, first exploring the possibility of a backlash against globalization with the consequence of increased restrictions to movement and the strengthening of political authoritarianism. The second possibility is the weakening of nationalist populism and a return to a neoliberal, left-leaning globalization, possibly with a high-tech face. The third possibility is a stalemate between the two forces of nationalism and market globalism. Globalization has both caused and responded to new global problems beyond the reach of any one nation-state, and for new problems, we need new, more inclusive, and sustainable solutions guided by the principles of ethical globalism.

2. Globalization in history

Is globalization a new phenomenon, and is it fundamentally different from the centuries-old process of modernization? ‘Globalization in history’ explores the spatial expansion of social relations and the corresponding rise of the global imaginary, recognizing them as gradual processes with deep historical roots. Following the settling of prehistoric tribes, the premodern period saw technological advances which formed the foundations of many of today’s innovations. The early modern period saw the birth of capitalism and the modern period brought about industrialization and a population explosion. Our current period is described as ‘the great convergence’, in which different and widely spaced people and connections can come together more rapidly than ever.