The three readings for the past
week by John Baylis et al., Anthony McGrew, and Ian Clark both discuss the
evolution of Globalization and its growing impact on the social, economical,
and political aspects of the world. They argue how differently Globalization
has emerged since the early 1900s and how its present effects are changing
world views.
Baylis
et al.’s Introduction begins by discussing the transition of Globalization from
international politics to world politics. The interest with world politics
resides in that it is more inclusive and follows political patterns in the
world, not only those between nation-states (Baylis et al., 2). The authors
state that there are two main theories to world politics: idealism and realism.
Their theory of idealism encompasses the view of how the world should be and
tries to aid in events to make it that way. Realism, on the other hand,
stresses viewing the world as it “really is” rather than how we would like it
to be.
Realism
focuses primarily on the states. Their ideology is that human nature is fixed
and therefore, selfish. Resulting from that, world politics “represents a
struggle for power between states each trying to maximize their national
interest,” (Baylis et al., 4).
While realism has been the
prominent way to explain world politics over the last century, there are also
many other theories present, including:
- Liberalism
o
Liberalists argue that human beings are
perfectible, democracy is required for that perfectibility, and that ideas are
important. They reject the theory that war is the natural condition of world
politics and question whether the focus should be on the state or not.
- Marxism
o
Marxists believe that world politics occur
within a world capitalist economy where the most important population is
classes. In this setting, class conflicts are played out. They also believe the
most dominant feature is global capitalism.
- Constructivism
o
Constructionists argue that we “make and re-make
the social world and so there is much more of a role for human agency than
other theories allow,” (Baylis et al., 5). People who view the world as fixed
do not understand the possibilities for human progress and the enhancement of
people’s lives.
- Poststructuralism
o
Poststructuralists are concerned with any
accounts claiming to have direct access to “the truth.” They believe there is
no “truth” that exists outside of power – which all power requires knowledge
and all knowledge relies on power relations.
- Postcolonialism
o
Postcolonialists state that theories such as
realism and liberalism have aided in securing the domination of the Western
world over the global South, but are not neutral in terms of race, gender, or
class (Baylis et al., 6). They believe that global hierarchies are made
possible through social construction.
McGrew’s discussion transitions to
discuss the economic and cultural transformation of the effect of
Globalization. Over the decades, global interconnectedness has become
increasingly evident through economics and cultural events.
McGrew continues on to
conceptualize globalization, and characterizes it by:
- A stretching of social, political, and economic activities across political frontiers so that one region of the globe experiences its effects from another region.
- The intensification of interconnectedness
- The accelerating pace of global interactions and processes as transportation and communication becomes easier worldwide
- The growing extensity, intensity, and velocity of global interactions
McGrew states that globalization
embodies a process known as deterritorialization. In this process, social,
political, and economic activities are increasingly “stretched” across the
globe, becoming a significant sense no longer organized solely according to a
strictly territorial logic (McGrew 18). This theory also encompasses the idea
of a “shrinking world,” meaning that the sites and subjects of power may be far
apart.
The Westphalian Constitution of
World Politics is also brought up in this discussion. There are three sections
to this constitution:
1.
Territoriality
a.
Humankind is organized into exclusive political
territories with fixed borders.
2.
Sovereignty
a.
Within those borders, the government has the
right to supreme, unqualified, and exclusive political and legal authority.
3.
Autonomy
a.
Self-determination constitutes countries as
autonomous containers of political, social, and economic activity within its
borders.
In all, Baylis et al.’s
Introduction and McGrew’s discussion of Globalization and it’s impacts and
theories show that the concept of globalization is transforming the Westphalian
idea of sovereign statehood. They also state that globalization is beginning to
transfer from international politics to global politics.
Clark
discusses the different orders of globalization and how those have changed
world views over the years.
He
lists four different typologies of orders:
1.
Globalized
a.
This typology focuses on the global system, and
involves the end of national politics, societies, and economies.
2.
International
a.
This typology focuses on the states, and concerns
itself with the agenda of sovereignty and stability.
3.
World
a.
This typology focuses on humanity, and concerns
itself with human rights, needs, and justice.
4.
Globalized International (Clark’s viewpoint of
Globalization)
a.
This typology focuses on globalized states. It
concerns itself with the agenda of managing relations between states penetrated
by the global system but still distinguishable within it (Clark 547).
Clark extends the Westphalian order
theory from Baylis et al.’s and McGrew’s discussion. He talks about the
post-westphalian order and how it ties into Globalization.
Globalization is usually seen as an
effect of the cold war since it led to its further geographical spread.
However, it should be understood that globalization is also a factor that led
to the end of the cold war: “it was the Soviet Union’s marginalization from
processes of globalization that revealed, and intensified, its weaknesses,”
(Clark 552). So, from this it should be stated that globalization is an element
of continuity between the cold war and post-cold-war orders.
Globalization can also be viewed as
an extreme form of interdependence, which follows the idea of an outside-in
development. But, if consideration falls so that globalization is seen as a
transformation in the nature of states, then it would seem that the states are
still the main focus of the order. This would follow the idea of an inside-out
development because the globalized state would be in state form.
Overall, each chapter discusses the
main elements of Globalization and some of their effects on the world. While
the views of the evolution of globalization may differ, they all agree that
globalization is transitioning. More social, economical, cultural, and
political values are being spread throughout the world as access to travel and
communication are becoming easier.
~*~
Baylis, J., Smith, S., & Owens, P. (n.d.). Introduction.
The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations (5th ed., pp.
1-14). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Clark, Ian (n.d.). Globalization and the post-cold war
order. The Globalization of World
Politics: An Introduction to International Relations (5th ed.,
pp. 546-557). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
McGrew, Anthony (n.d.). Globalization and global politics. The Globalization of World Politics: An
Introduction to International Relations (5th ed., pp. 15-30).
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