Chapter 11: Globalization and the Future of Comparative Politics

What is Globalization?

Defining Globalization

• Globalization: the process of expanding and intensifying linkages between states, societies, and economies
• Long history of a globalized world
• What makes this era different from previous globalized relations?   * Entire societies are directly connected.   * Relations in the past were “thinner” than they are now.

Globalization’s Implications for Comparative Politics

• Breaks down the distinction between international relations and domestic politics
• Two directions:   * Global forces increasingly impact domestic politics.   * Domestic issues and events become “internationalized.”

The International Becomes Domestic, and Vice Versa

• Food security and food culture   * Globalized supply chains increase availability of food and reduce poverty.   * New food options change tastes and create new business.
• Environmental impacts   * Coal-fired factories in China produce acid rainfall in U.S. Pacific Northwest.   * Australia’s 2020 wildfires caused air quality problems in Chile.
• Conflict and refugees   * Syrian Civil War was triggered by pro-democracy protests in Tunisia.   * Syrian civil war created a dramatic increase in refugees through the Middle East and Europe.

Institutions and Globalization

Globalization’s Actors and Ideas

• Major actors   * Multinational corporations (MNCs)   * Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)   * Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)
• Other institutions   * International regimes   * The Internet

Multinational Corporations

• Multinational corporations (MNCs): firms that produce, distribute, and market goods or services in more than one country   * Examples: Google, McDonald’s, Apple, Toyota, Walmart

Nongovernmental Organizations

• Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs): a national or international group, independent of any state, that pursues policy objectives and fosters public participation
• Form of a global civil society   * Members are individuals, not states.
• Examples   * Greenpeace, Red Cross/Crescent, Catholic Church, Amnesty International

Intergovernmental Organizations

• Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs): groups created by states to serve certain policy ends
• Political institutions   * Composed of member states, not private citizens
• Examples   * United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization of American States (OAS)

Wrapping It Up: Globalization’s Nonstate Actors

In Focus: Nonstate Organizations and Globalization

International Regimes

• International regime: fundamental rules and norms that link states together and shape their relationships
• Focus on specific issue areas
• Regime examples   * Free trade   * Nuclear nonproliferation

Is the Internet an Institution of Globalization?

• Originally created by the U.S. government
• Now a global means to exchange goods and information   * Much of this exchange beyond the control of any one state or regulatory authority.
• However, the Internet has no single location or common voice.   * May be comparable to international regimes, though it lacks norms on how to address specific issues or meet goals.

Political Globalization

What is Political Globalization?

• Political globalization: trend whereby political institutions, decision-making, and political identity shift to the international level
• Patterns in political globalization   * International organizations and agreements can create laws that override national governments.   * NGOs, MNCs, and other global actors operate in areas outside of traditional state government control.

Some Examples of Political Globalization

• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty limits the spread of nuclear weapons.
• The EU sets economic regulations that override rules set by member states.
• Climate change agreements request countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Debate: Will Globalization Impact State Autonomy and Capacity?

• Pooling resources through international actors may increase state capacity.   * Example: World Health Organization and Doctors without Borders may improve state response to health crises.
• IGOs, treaties, and international law may constrain state actions and weaken autonomy/sovereignty.   * Example: International Monetary Fund and EU (partially) controlled Greece’s budget decisions following the euro crisis.

The Debate: Is There a “Democratic Deficit” in Global Governance?

• Yes:   * IGOs make critical decisions on many issues but most are not directly elected by voters.   * Governments may use IGOs to avoid accountability, blaming on unpopular policies on outside pressure.   * Political globalization empowers violent international actors and movements.
• No:   * IGOs are accountable to governments; governments are accountable to voters.   * IGOs and NGOs can act as “watchdogs” and increase the transparency of state action.

Economic Globalization

What is Economic Globalization?

• Economic globalization: Markets, businesses, and services increasingly cross borders and merge into one large (global) market.
• Emerging trends   * Increased trade in goods and services   * Economic migration   * Foreign direct investment (FDI)   * Offshore outsourcing

The Origins of the Modern Free Trade Regime

• Following WWII, Western allies sought to create a system that would prevent the economic problems that fueled this crisis.   * 1944: Meeting in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
• The Bretton Woods system: an economic regime that manages international economic relations; this includes the:   * International Monetary Fund (IMF)   * World Bank group   * World Trade Organization (WTO)

The Consequences of Bretton Woods

• The United States used Bretton Woods institutions to promote market integration.   * Gave rise to Washington Consensus.
• Since 1945:   * Trade expansion; many national economies deeply integrated in global networks and supply chains.   * Firms trade services, not just goods.   * Investors more free to invest globally.   * Deeper connections between workers, goods, and wealth

The (Potential) Advantages of Economic Globalization

• More and cheaper products   * Access to world markets means people can sell their services to more consumers.   * People can purchase from whomever they want.   * Businesses can produce products more efficiently.
• Reduced global poverty   * Cheaper products improve spending power for the poor.   * Investors increasingly invest in places where their assets will produce the largest net gains—poor countries.   * Offshoring gives more people chances to work at jobs previously reserved for First World citizens.

The (Potential) Disadvantages of Economic Globalization

• Increasing inequality   * Offshore outsourcing: a process by which a firm moves some of its work to a secondary business outside the home country that can do the work more efficiently or cheaply.   * The “race to the bottom” drives down wages and decreases regulations.   * Harms labor rights and environment
• Increased economic uncertainty and risk   * Increased trade risks dependence, which can expose businesses to greater shocks.   * The free movement of capital can trigger busts and booms.
• Undermined state capacity and democratic accountability   * Businesses are able to avoid taxation, oversight, and public accountability.

Societal Globalization

What is Societal Globalization?

• Societal globalization: Individual and collective identities are increasingly shaped by international influences.
• Peer groups and civil society membership increasingly cross borders.   * Human migration at highest level this century
• Fueled by technological innovations   * Internet and cell phones

How Will Social Globalization Shape Institutions and Identities?

• Optimists: rising global multiculturalism and globalized democracy   * Multiple and diverse values bind populations together.   * NGOs and global civil society create new forms of public participation.
• Pessimists: political alienation, backlash, and the “globalization of nothing”   * Overwhelming choices   * Promotion of crass consumerism

Taking Stock of Globalization

Is Globalization New?

• Long history of a globalized world
• Previous periods of interconnection   * Silk road: trade between ancient empires   * Medieval Europe highly interconnected   * Rising integration under imperialism   * Late nineteenth through early twentieth centuries see the rise of NGOs and IGOs.

Is Globalization Exaggerated?

• Overall, the evidence is mixed.
• Political globalization   * Increasing involvement of nonstate actors   * State sovereignty remains a central focus of international politics.
• Economic globalization   * Trade and international investment is increasing.   * “Home bias”: Most economics is still domestic.
• Societal globalization (from World Values Survey)   * Younger people are increasingly seeing themselves as world citizens.   * But distrust of other nationalities remains high.

Globalization and the Future of Iran

• 2019 Index of Globalization from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ranks Iran 131 of 197 countries.
• Iran’s authoritarian and theocratic regime built on values critical of globalization.   * Western imperialism led regime to limit contact with the outside world with censorship and restrictions on foreign investment.
• Internet, smartphones, and satellite television allow Iranians to consume international information, despite the regime’s censorship.   * 2019 Green Wave demonstrations relied on videos, cell phones, and Twitter to mobilize the public and attract international attention.     * However, the regime used violence to suppress this opposition, and the protests made little impact.

Is Globalization Inevitable?

• History says no.
• Factors that may weaken globalization   * Economic crises   * National policies limiting immigration   * Declining support for capitalism and free trade

Signs of Globalization in Decline

• Rise of antiglobalization groups and attitudes
• The United States is stepping back from encouraging trade liberalism.   * Abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): an agreement that sought to liberalize trade across a number of Asian and Latin American countries   * Tensions surround the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): a free trade agreement liberalizing the economies of Canada, Mexico, and the United States

In Sum: The Future of Freedom and Equality

• Globalization intensifies linkages between states and people.
• Globalization has given rise to new actors and institutions who are increasingly playing a role in politics.
• Political globalization has important consequences for state sovereignty, capacity, and global democracy.
• Economic globalization has promoted both rising prosperity and rising inequality.
• Societal globalization may, in the future, promote greater identity linkages or greater divides.
• Scholars debate whether globalization is new or exaggerated, though most would stress that it is not inevitable. Recent years have seen a reverse in globalization trends.

Key Terms

 1. Bretton Woods System - an economic regime that manages international economic relations; includes IMF, World Bank, and WTO  2. Economic globalization - increased trade between countries, ties between markets, producers, and labor  3. Foreign direct investment - the purchase of assets in a country by a foreign firm  4. Globalization - the process of expanding and intensifying linkages between states, societies, and economies  5. Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) - groups like the UN and EU; created by states to focus on certain policies  6. International regime - the fundamental rules and norms of politics - a set of institutions that empower and constrain states and governments; the link states and shape their relationships with each other, usually with relation to some specific issue  7. Multinational corporations (MNCs) - firms that produce market goods in more than one country  8. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) - national and international groups, apart from any state, that focus on specific policy goals  9. Offshore outsourcing - a process by which a firm moves some of its work to a secondary business outside of the home country that can do the work more efficiently or cheaply

10. Political globalization - formation of international organizations like intergovernmental organizations, ties between different countries
11. Social globalization - globalization can connect people through common interests

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