Human Geography - Global Systems and Governance

globalisation

a process by which national economies, societies and cultures have become increasingly interconnected through the global network of trade, communication, transportation and immigration 

social globalisation

• International immigration has created global family networks and multi-ethnic societies 

• Global improvements in education and health eg rising world life expectancy 

• Social interconnectivity eg phones, internet

economic globalisation

• Growth of TNCS

• Informations and communications technology - growth of complex spatial divisions of labour and more international economy 

• Online purchasing eg amazon 

cultural globalisation

• Domination of western cultural traits eg americanisation and mcdonaldisation of tastes and fashion 

• Glocalisation and hybridisation - merging of old local cultures with global influences

• Circulation of ideas and information eg 24hr reporting and social media

political globalisation

• Growth of trading blocs eg NAFTA helps markets grow 

• Global concerns eg free trade and global response to natural disasters

• The World Bank, IMF, and WTO work internationally to harmonise national economies

shrinking world theory

Due to globalisation making world and us more accessible, interconnected and interdependent

periphery areas

These areas are poorer and may experience exploitation, economic leakage and out migration. For the purpose of this section we will consider LDE’s in Africa, Central Asia and parts of Latin America to be the periphery.

capital

Can take many forms but for the purpose of this section we will refer to capital as money.

core areas

These are economically important and attract investment, capital and people. For the purpose of this section we will consider HDE’s like the US, Canada, Western Europe and Japan to be the core areas.

foreign direct investment

Investment mainly made by TNC’s (or occasionally governments), based on one country, into the physical capital or assets of foreign enterprises.

repatriation of profits

TNCs operating in foreign countries will normally send any profits made back to the TNC headquarters. This repatriation of profits is sometimes known as economic leakage. These flows usually return to companies based in richer countries.

different flows

capital, labour, products, services, information

factors in globalisation

communications, government support, financial, transport, security, management and information systems,

just in time technology

• greater efficiency in the supply chain for manufacturers ensuring that the correct supply of components arrives when they are needed and costs are cut by reducing the quantities of goods and materials held in stock

trade bloc

An agreement between states, regions, or countries, to reduce barriers to trade between the participating regions. The most well known trade bloc is NAFTA(North American Free Trade Agreement), between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Some opponents of trade blocs believe that such agreements are detrimental to global free trade.

free trade

International business not restrained by government interference or regulation, such as duties (tax on imports/exports) 

NAFTA

North American Free Trade Agreement – Canada, USA, Mexico – 1994, links 450 million people, member economies generate $20.8 trillion, tariffs eliminated

interdependence

• Mutual dependence at global level

• Importing and exporting of goods and services highly contributes to global interdependence

International Monetary Fund

• Oversees the global financial system

• Offers financial and technical assistance to its members

• Only provides loans if it will prevent a global economic crisis- the international ‘lender of last resort’

World Bank

• Promotes economic development in developing countries 

• Provides long-term investment loans for development projects with the aim of reducing poverty 

The World Trade Organisation

Deals with global rules of trade between nations, global institution responsible for facilitating international trade

bilateral agreements

an agreement on trade or aid that is negotiated between two countries or two groups of countries 

multilateral agreements

an agreement negotiated between more than two countries or groups of countries at the same time

TNCs

a transnational corporation. An organisation that owns or controls goods and services in more than one country. It will often have its headquarters in one country and its production branches in another country.

multiplier effect

a form of positive feedback where an initial investment creates more investment, both social and economic.

out-sourcing

a TNC sub-contracts an ‘overseas’ company to produce goods or services on its behalf

offshoring

refers to the manufacture or assembly of a product in a developing country using components produced in a developed country.

demographic dividend

occurs when there are fewer dependent children and elderly with relative more productive adults in a population

economies of scale

An economy of scale is the concept of increasing profits by producing a larger amount of products , as overall the average price to manufacture each product is lowered

global supply chains

A supply chain is the organised management of product flows, from when they are manufactured to when they are delivered to consumers. Due to the ability to communicate information and transport products , companies can now have different stages of production in different countries. This overall minimises costs because each stage of production is specialised rather than having one factory that has to control every aspect of production, saving time and money.

interdependence

the theory that nations depend on each other economically, politically, socially and environmentally

regulation

management achieved through the enforcement of a set of rules

time-space compression

Refers to set of processes that cause the relative distances between places (ie measured in terms of travel time/cost) to contract, effectively making such places grow ‘closer’

global sense of place by Doreen Massey - power geometry

different groups have different experiences of globalisation.

1. people in charge of goods/ideas who initiate flows eg TNCs

2. those involved in the physical moving eg refugees/migrant workers

3. people at the receiving end of time-space compression eg british pensioner or ppl suffering from environmental problems

4. people who have cultural influence but little power eg Disney, Hollywood

(yes globalisation created unequal power relations)

APEC

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation = a regional economic forum established 1989 to leverage growing interdependance of Asia-Pacific to create greater prosperity for people of the region

trade

The movement of goods and services from producers to consumers. In geographical terms it is measured by movement of these items from one country to another

Comparative Advantage

The principle that countries can benefit from specialising in the production of goods at which they are relatively more efficient or skilled. Surpluses can then be traded by a country to provide income needed to buy goods that cannot be produced efficiently, or at all in their home economy. 

barriers to trade and protectionism

A barrier to trade is a government-imposed restraint on the flow of international goods or services. The most common barrier to trade is a TARIFF – a tax on imports. examples: subsidies, voluntary export restraints, import license, embargoes, import quotas, trade restriction.

subsidies

Grants or allowances usually awarded to domestic producers to reduce their costs and make them more competitive against imported goods. Export subsidies are also used by governments to encourage domestic producers to sell their goods abroad.

Voluntary export restraints

Diplomatic strategy offered by the exporting country to appease the importing country and deter it from imposing trade barriers

import license

Used by a national government authorising the importation of goods from a specific source

embargoes

Involve the partial or complete prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country. They are usually put into practice for political rather than commercial reasons.

import quotas

These set a physical limit on the quantity of goods that can be imported into the country

trade restriction

Other import restrictions may be based on technical or regulatory obstacles such as the quality standards of goods being imported, or how they are produced. E.g. the EU attempts to put trade restrictions on the import of goods knowingly produced by child labour.

Special and Differential Treatment Agreements - SDTs

eg Everything but Arms agreement

• success: Cambodia garment exports

• criticism: bike trade problems (China exploiting Cambodia SDT)

Global trade agreement examples

World Trade Organisation, EU, NAFTA/USMCA, ASEAN, Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

factors influencing changing patterns of trade and why countries trade

production chains, demography, international migration, investment, technology, energy/natural resources, transport costs and borders/governement systems

fair trade

Fair Trade is a social movement whose goal is to help producers in developing countries achieve better trading conditions and to promote sustainability. 

ethical investment

Ethical Investment is a form of ethical consumerism where investors make a deliberate choice to invest capital based on the activities of the firm or organisation they are investing in. 

global governance

A movement of political integration aimed at negotiating responses to problems that affect more than one state or region. an international process of consensus-forming which, in turn, generates guidelines and agreements ‘governing’ the actions of those same ‘actors’. Global governance maintains global systems.

norms

what we expect. the values, traditions and customs that govern individuals’ behaviour in any particular society – some may be unspoken and never written down, but they are widely understood – it’s the ‘done-thing’.

rules

standards for activity

actors

may be referred to as stakeholders/players. Examples: international regulators, regional trading blocs, coordinating groups of countries, national governments, TNCs, NGOs, workers

laws

are obligatory and normally protect the rights and interests of all who live under them

sovereignty

supreme power or authority; a self governing state. Nearly 200 individual sovereign states in the world.

rules-based order

In international relations, the liberal international order (LIO), also known as the rules-based order (RBO), consists of a set of global, rule-based, structured relationships based on political liberalism, economic liberalism and liberal internationalism since the late 1940s.

sustainable development

development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

UN special bodies

UN general assembly, UN security council, WHO, UN development programmes, IMF, World Bank

IMF

provide short term loans, stabilises the international monetary system and monitors global currencies, puts economic policies in place

World Bank

give financial assistance to countries for development and reducing poverty

World Trade Organisation

Deals with global rules of trade between nations, global institution responsible for facilitating international trade

interactions at different scales

Agenda 21 (all scales/top down approach)

Paris Agreement (Global and National scale)

Amnesty International (International NGO)

operational NGO

provide frontline support services to the needy eg Oxfam. Raise money for their projects

advocacy NGO

 focus on campaigns to raise awareness to gain support for a cause eg Friends of the Earth, derive money from donations and sometimes membership subscriptions 

global commons

resources domain or areas that lie outside the political reach of one nation state

• High seas

• Atmosphere

• Antarctica

• Outer space 

tragedy of the commons

Idea that common access resources of any type are likely to be overexploited as individuals act independently and according to self-interest which is contrary to the whole group interest as the shared resource will become depleted