Interconnected World: Historical Perspectives on Globalisation

These flashcards cover key concepts and historical perspectives related to globalisation, including its definitions, stages, and impact on various communities.

What is globalisation according to Dyck, 2005?

The ‘stretching of social, political, and economic relations over space, constructed and negotiated at interlocking scales of bodies, homes, cities etc.’

What concept did David Harvey coin in relation to globalisation?

Time-space compression

Time-space compression

refers to the phenomenon where technological advancements reduce the time it takes for information, goods, and people to travel across distances, thereby altering perceptions of time and space - making the world feel smaller and faster

Capitalism

An economic system characterised by private ownership of production and the creation of goods or services for profit, often linked to globalisation.

Explain the link between globalisation and capitalism?

Globalisation and capitalism are interconnected. As globalisation facilitates the expansion of capitalist economies by enabling the free flow of goods, services, and capital across borders, leading to increased economic integration and interdependence.

What’s the quote by D.Shaw about capitalism and globalisation?

‘How capitalism has spread the globe and even now is remoulding human societies in new and unexpected ways” - D. Shaw 2016 pg 20

D. Shaw argues that Globalisation = capitalism gone global

What historical period is associated with the emergence of capitalism? and why?

The industrial revolution, massively accelerated capitalism through:

• factory production

• machines

• mass labour

• investment in industry

• urbanisation

This created the modern capitalist system.

What are the 4 stages of globalisation?

1. Colonialism, Exploration and Expansion (1492-1770)

2. Imperialism and Industrialisation (1770-1950)

3. Proper Globalisation (1950-2000)

4. Interconnected World (2000-?)

Note: stages 1 and 2 are part of the Holoocene, stages 2 and 4 are part of the Anthropocene

Stage 1: 1492 -1770 Colonialism, exploration and expansion

Refers to the period when European powers explored and claimed territories (Americas, Africa, and Asia), establishing colonies, trading post and trade routes globally.

• Early capitalism = merchant capitalism: merchants invest capital to buy goods in one place and transport them elsewhere to sell for profit. This led to the growth of trade networks and the accumulation of wealth.

Key point: Capitalism begins to expand, but the world is not yet truly globally integrated.

What quote highlights the European powers in stage 1 of globalisation

‘The European-known world in 1492’ (Eggleston, 1898)

Stage 2: 1770-1950: Imperialism and Industrial

• The period marks the birth of industrial capitalism, when machines transform production. e.g., The mechanisation of cotton spinning in the UK and opening of new markets

• Led to established trade routes

• Imperialism:

Key point: This stage globalises the economic structure of capitalism.

What is the quote by Marx, 1973?

“Capital, by its nature, drives beyond every spatial barrier. Thus, the creation of the physical conditions of exchange becomes an extraordinary necessity for it”  - Marx 1973

Meaning, Capitalism must expand beyond national borders to survive.

Stage 3: 1950-2000: ‘proper’ gobalisation

This period was characterised by globalisation becoming fast, large-scale…

• Increased global interdependence = technological advancements, Communications, and travel improvements

• Decolonisation: 86 former colonies join the UN = new countries enter the global economy

• Expansion of capitalism

  • The rise of global corporations (TNCs; extremely powerful)

  • Growth of world trade

  • Rise of institutions like IMF, World Ban

Key point: Nation-states (gov.) lose control; corporations gain power.

What is the ‘Bretton wood system’? How does it relate to stage 3 of globalisation?

The Bretton Woods system was the global financial system created after World War II (1944) to stabilise the world economy and prevent another Great Depression.

It is important in Stage 3 because it shaped globalisation between 1950–1970s.

Stage 4: 2000 -?: Interconnected world/hyper-globalisation

This is our current world:

• instant communication (internet, smartphones)

• Real-time global financial markets

• Advanced capitalism links all countries into one economic system

• Complex global supply chains

• Fast movement of people, capital, and ideas around the world

Highlights the vulnerabilities of global integration: climate change, terrorism and pandemics

Many scholars suggest 2008 marks the end of the globalisation era

What happened in 2008 with global finance?

Global financial crisis - In 2008, risky home loans in the US blew up, causing banks worldwide to lose money and collapse because the global financial system was deeply interconnected, leading to widespread economic recession

• e.g., Northern Rock bankruptcy

What are the three alternative stories of globalisation?

1.        Globalised lives: Caribbean histories

2.        Globalisation and environmental damage

3.        Indigenous people and globalisation

These 3 stories complicate the stages of globalisation mentioned before

Why is Caribbean histories important in terms of globalsiation?

Black Caribbean people experienced globalisation long before most Europeans — but through colonialism, slavery and racialisation, not freedom.

What does Lamming (2002) mean when he says “migration was not a word I would have used” to describe travelling from the West Indies to England in 1950?

• He believed he was going to the “mother country” as a British subject, expecting welcome and belonging.

• Instead, he and other West Indians faced racism and exclusion, revealing that Britain did not see them as fully British.

How does Lamming’s quote relate to globalisation?

Highlights how pre-globalisation black people had the same rights as british citizens, but they no longer have now.

Also that citizenship has become less global, no more so

What were the effects of globalisation on black Caribbean people?

They faced racism and loss of rights despite previously being considered British citizens.

What does 'merchant capitalism' refer to in the context of colonial foundations in globalisation?

The early stage of globalisation characterised by the extraction of resources and global trade in enslaved people who are seen as commodities

What is the quote by nunn and puga on the four slave trades between 1400-1900)?

between 1400-1900, four simultaneous slave trades – across the Atlantic, the sahara desert, red sea, and the Indian ocean – forced the migration of over 18 million people’ (nunn and puga)

What is the quote by massey which supports the link between colonised people and globalsiation?

• Colonised peoples experienced cultural change (new foods, products) long before Europeans felt globalisation. (1994)

What is the ‘Windrush Scandal’?

• Between 1948-1970, citizens of British colonies had the legal right to settle in Britian. Black Caribbeans citizens migrated

• In 1973 the right to settle was removed!

• Those in the UK for more than 2 years were given permanent right to stay. However, many were undocumented because they never needed it

• 2010s – hostile environment policy – resulted in people being detained, and deportation if migrants did not have documentation

• 2018: Javid said that at least 850 people were incorrectly detained and 83 were incorrectly deported

What does this alternative story show about globalsiation?

• Globalisation is not new for colonised people (black Caribbeans)

• Freedom was not equally distributed.

• Racism from the past shapes contemporary politics (e.g., Windrush).

• Globalisation affected “locals” differently depending on race.

What is the alterntive story with the environment?

Globalisation transforms landscapes:

-              Global trade drives:

-              Deforestation

-              Amazon destruction

What is the quote by Foley, 2010 on globalisation and environmental damage?

Foley, 2010 - ‘trade and globalisation are really responsible for damage to the rainforests and amazon’

e.g.,

What is meant by the term 'agricultural homogenisation'?

The phenomenon where landscapes around the world start to look the same due to the spread of identical crops, farming practices and techologies

e.g., agricultural landscapes now look the same everywhere =  Bolivia looks like Iowa and Thailand looks like Finland

Give an example of environmental damage caused by globalisation (include figures/numerical values)

• Number of wild species living on land has fallen by 40%  since 1970

• Marine population fallen by 40%

What does the term 'Anthropocene' suggest?

A proposed geological epoch where humans are the dominant force shaping the planet.

What are some negative impacts of globalisation on Indigenous peoples?

Land loss, cultural loss, political exclusion, environmental destruction, and inequality.

What is the quote by Coates, that supports this argument of indigenous people and globalisation?

•       “Indigenous peoples face other serious difficulties… constant threat of territorial invasion and murder, the plundering of their resources, cultural and legal discrimination” (Coates, 2003, p12)