Globalization and International Studies – Study Notes ( condensed ) (copy)

What is globalization?

Globalization is the process of expanding and intensifying cross-border connections and interdependence across economic, political, cultural, and social dimensions.

How does globalization create broader markets?

By increasing flows of goods, services, capital, and ideas across borders.

What are the key factors driving globalization?

Expansion of cross-border flows, growth of international institutions, and diffusion of ideas and cultures.

What is economic borders?

Thresholds that separate national economies, including tariffs and trade policies.

Define cultural borders.

Distinctions in language, values, norms, and practices that travel or resist globalization.

What is the Golden Straitjacket?

A term coined by Thomas Friedman suggesting that countries must adopt market-oriented reforms to participate in globalization, often at the cost of policy autonomy.

Describe complex interdependence.

A framework that ties states and actors together through multiple channels of interaction, reducing the effectiveness of military coercion.

What is International/Global Studies?

An interdisciplinary field that analyzes global processes, connections, and power relations across nations and regions.

What distinguishes Global Studies from traditional studies?

It treats the world as an integrated system rather than a collection of independent states.

What is the main debate regarding the history of globalization?

Whether globalization has long historical roots or if its current form has accelerated in the late 20th century.

What were significant events that led to globalization?

Silk Road, Voyages of Discovery, industrial revolution, colonialism, and the Cold War.

What is the purpose of the United Nations (UN)?

To promote peace, security, development, human rights, and cooperation among states.

What does GDP stand for?

Gross Domestic Product, the total value of all goods and services produced within a country.

Differentiate between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI).

FDI refers to investments where a firm acquires lasting interest in a foreign enterprise, while FPI is investment in a country's financial assets without controlling ownership.

What is neoliberalism?

An ideology favoring free markets, deregulation, privatization, and limited government intervention in the economy.

What does the term 'sustainable development' mean?

Development that meets current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

What is the Bretton Woods System?

The post-WWII international monetary order that established fixed exchange rates and created institutions like the IMF and World Bank.

Define protectionism.

Policy measures that restrict imports to protect domestic industries, such as tariffs and quotas.

What is the role of Transnational Corporations (TNCs)?

Firms operating across borders that shape production networks and investment flows.

How does globalization affect cultural diversity?

It can exacerbate inequality and challenge cultural diversity.

Name a historical factor that impacted globalization.

The formation of nation-states which frame global relations.

What is the significance of World-Systems theory?

It describes the global system with core, semi-periphery, and periphery regions and reflects structural inequalities.