Global Systems and Global Governance

Global shift

The movement of manufacturing and the outsourcing of services from the West to the East (It can be considered the movement of the global economic centre of gravity).

Globalisation

The growing interdependence of countries worldwide

Or the increasing connectivity of people and places

Production

The networks and organisational routes through which goods are transported or delivered to their markets (Where and how a product is made)

Distribution

The networks and organisational routes through which goods are transported or delivered to their markets. (How products move around the world)

Flows

Movements around the world

Flows of capital

The movement of money around the world

The repatriation of profits

Where TNCs invest in an area but the profits come back to the TNCs in the source country

Trade agreements

Countries grouping together to govern the flow of products and global flows like labour

Outsourcing

Employing another company to carry out a section of work e.g. BT call centres in Bangalore

Global marketing

The promotion and selling of products or services on a global scale

Glocalisation

Where products are adapted to suit a location e.g. McDonald’s McArabia in Saudi Arabia

Antarctic Convergence

A curve of continuously encircling waters around Antarctica where cold waters coming from the south (which are flowing northwards) meet relatively warmer subantarctic waters

Trade blocs (1)

(1) Groups of countries that work together to boost trade and economic growth

Economic well-being

A person or family's standard of living based on how well they are doing financially. 

Social well-being

The access to items which improve a person or family's quality of life

Benefits

The advantages/positive impacts of something (social, economic and environmental)

Geopolitics

How relationships between geographical, economic and political factors impact on political decisions and international relations and therefore affect the use and control of territory and resources

Global Commons

A region, resource or natural property of the Earth beyond the exclusive control of individual nation states and requiring common governance and management by the international community

Global governance

The system and institutions that coordinate the behaviour of international agencies, facilitate cooperation, resolve disputes and improve global decision-making

Globalisation (2)

The process by which individual national economies, societies and cultures are increasingly integrated through advances in communication and transport technology, international trade and movement of peoples

International trade

The exchange of capital, goods and services across international borders.

Labour

A factor of production incorporating human effort and ingenuity into the production, trade and consumption of goods and services

Latin America

A common term to describe countries in the Americas found to the south of the continental United States, including Central America South America and the islands of the Caribbean where the dominant languages derived from Latin (mainly Spanish and Portuguese) (some may see the term as problematic as it homogenises the region and characterises it using language that originates from colonisation)

NGO (Non-governmental organisation)

A non-profit, voluntary citizens group with a common interest in pursuing political goals organised on a local, national or international scale

Norms

The shared values, traditions and customs that govern individual and group behaviour in a society

Sub Saharan Africa

A term collectively describing countries in Africa located mainly south of the Sahara desert. (This dividing line has origins in colonial ideas of race, separating the predominantly Arab states of North Africa, which colonists considered to be more developed from the rest of Africa, this term replaces phrases such as ‘Black Africa‘ that were used up till the 1950s)

TNCs (Transnational corporations)

Large businesses that operate in several different countries and commonly allocate different production functions to different types of country (e.g. assembly, research and development and decision taking)

The United Nations (UN)

An international organisation founded in 1945 consisting of 193 member states with the aim of maintaining international peace, security and corporation. It self-defines as “one place where the world nations can gather together, discuss common problems and find shared solutions”.

United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP)

A global authority for the environment with programs focusing on climate, nature, pollution and sustainable development. (it has the mission “to inspire, inform and enable nations and people to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

Trade barriers

Government-imposed restraint on the flow of international goods or services

Tariff

Tax on import (most common trade barrier)

Protectionism

Strategy used by governments to protect their established or emerging industries

Import license

A licence issued by national government, that authorises the importing of goods from a specific source

Import quotas

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

Subsidies

Grants or allowances awarded to domestic producers to reduce their costs and make them more competitive against imported goods

Export subsidies

Subsidies that encourage domestic producers to sell goods abroad

Voluntary export restraint

A diplomatic strategy offered by exporting countries to appease the importing country and deter it from imposing trade barriers (essentially gift from exporter to importer)

Embargoes

Partial or complete prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country, usually for political reasons

Time-space compression

The phenomenon that allows distances between places to feel much smaller

KOF index

An economic indicator that measures a country's degree of globalisation

Some dimensions of the KOF Index

economic - the degree of trade and investment

social- the flow of information and people across borders

political - the degree of political cooperation and participation in international organizations.

Trade

The exchange of goods and services between countries

EME

Emerging Market Economy

HDE

Highly Developed Economy

LDE

Less Developed Economy

Trade blocs (2)

(2) Agreements between two or more countries to reduce or eliminate trade barriers between them

Global governance (2)

(2) The system of rules, institutions, and processes that are designed to manage and regulate global issues and challenges that cross national boundaries

Atmosphere

The layer of gases that surround the Earth (threatened by air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change and ozone depletion)

Outer Space

The region beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. (threatened by commercial exploitation like mining, militarisation and space debris).

Antarctica

The Earth’s southernmost continent and surrounding waters (threatened by climate change, overfishing, mining and tourism)

The High Seas

International waters that do not belong to a country (threatened by pollution, overfishing and climate change)

Economic connections

The exchange of goods and services across borders and the creation of global supply chains

Global supply chains

When companies locate different parts of the production process in different countries to take advantage of lower labour costs, availability of resources and local expertise

Political connections

Countries working together in international organisations e.g. the UN or the EU

Global village (McLuhan)

Describing the breakdown of differences between nations

Access to markets

A nation or company's ability to ​trade within the international market

Linkages

TNCs create links between countries and with other companies

Quotas

Limits on the number (or quantity) of goods and services that can be exported

Privatisation

Where state-owned businesses or infrastructure are sold to private TNCs

Free-market liberalisation/Neoliberalism.

Where the influence of the state in the economy is removed and the markets are allowed to act more freely. 

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

When a person or company from one country invests in a company or project located in another country (e.g. a Japanese company, Nissan investing in a UK in Sunderland)

Marketing

The promotion and sale of goods and services

Economies of scale

When companies are able to reduce costs by expanding production

Glocalisation (2)

(2) When a global company produces goods which are aimed at the local market

Financial deregulation

The reduction or removal of Government rules that control how banks and financial companies operate

Frictional effect of distance

Any movement incurs costs, energy and time which are proportional to distance travelled

Containerisation

A global shipping method which allows large volumes of goods to be transported quickly and easily via standardised containers around the world

Sovereignty

The authority that an individual nation has to self-govern, make its own laws and manage its borders.

Brain drain

When highly skilled workers leave a country or area

Cycle of poverty

A set of factors which keeps someone in poverty, without hope of an escape

Remittances

When migrants send money back to the home country

Consumption

The act of purchasing goods for final/end use

Biological productivity

The rate at which plants produce organic matter via photosynthesis

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

Parts of the ocean or sea where human activities are restricted or prohibited to protect marine ecosystems

Critique

A detailed assessment of something which examines its strengths and weaknesses before reaching a reasoned judgement

International trade

The exchange of money, goods and services between countries

Supranational

Having power or influence that transcends national boundaries or governments