CCW MIDTERM

Global Divide: The North and Global South

  • The North South Divide - is the socio-economic and political division that exists between the

    • the North - wealthy developed countries

    • the South - The poorer developing countries (least developed countries)

  • The North South Divide - is more metaphorical than geographical—it’s based on socio economic development, not just latitude.

  • Global North - Developed nations may shift between categories—economic development determines whether a nation is considered part of the __________, regardless of physical location.

  • Historical Context: “Three Worlds Theory” & Cold War

    • First World (Western Bloc; USA and Allied Countries)

    • Second World (Eastern Bloc; USSR and Allied Countries)

    • Third World (Non-Aligned and Largely Impoverished)

    • After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Second World ceased to exist and the three world model lost relevance.

    • 1989 –1991 - The time Soviet Union collapsed

    • New terminology emerged: Global North vs Global South, replacing "First" and "Third World."

  • Brandt Line - is a visual representation—roughly at 30° North latitude—separating richer nations (even including Australia and New Zealand) from poorer ones.

    • Introduced in the 1980s by Willy Brandt

    • China, Brazil, Mexico - Although many "South" countries have grown economically since then, the Brandt Line is now considered less accurate. These countries are known as..

Statistics & Economic Disparities

  • Global North:

    • 25% - Global North has around ___ of global population

    • 90% - Accounts for over ___ of manufacturing industries

    • 95% - Approximately ___ of population have basic needs met and access to education

  • Global South:

    • 75% - About ___ of global population

    • 20% - Only ___ of global income

    • Higher poverty, lower GDP, low technological development, reliance on raw materials and labor exports

    • Predominantly includes nations in Africa, South America, Asia (excluding Japan & South Korea)

Development Gap & Inequality

  • Despite global development gains and poverty reduction, inequality is widening:

    • 85 - In 2013, Oxfam reported that the richest __ people owned as much as the poorest half of world’s population

  • Causes of inequality include resource distribution, health & education levels, industrial base, trade policy, governance, conflict, and climate vulnerability

Solutions & International Efforts

  • Mitigation efforts - include promoting free trade, globalization, and UN Millennium

  • Development Goals - focusing on education, healthcare, gender equality, and environmental sustainability.

Asian Regionalism

  • Regionalism - the strengthened collective identity among nations within a particular geographic area that share common goals. It involves increasing cooperation in economic, political, and social dimensions.

  • Regionalism - thrives when countries within a geographic area align their

    aspirations. These shared goals often include:

    • Economic growth - through trade liberalization and market integration

    • Security cooperation - to address cross border threats like terrorism

      or climate change

    • Social development - via education, health, and poverty reduction

      initiatives

    • Sustainable progress - balancing modernization with environmental

      stewardship.

  • Economic and Political Collaboration - Regionalism encourages countries to work together in both economic and political spheres

    • Economic collaboration includes - forming free trade agreements, harmonizing tariffs, and investing in regional infrastructure (e.g., roads, energy grids, digital connectivity)

    • Political collaboration involves - diplomatic summits, shared policy

      frameworks, and coordinated responses to global issues. Such

      cooperation enhances bargaining power on the world stage and builds

      resilience against external shocks.

  • Cultural and Historical Ties - A regions identity is often rooted in shared cultural and historical experiences

    • Common heritage - such as language families, religious traditions, or colonial histories, fosters mutual understanding

    • Cultural exchanges - through festivals, education, and media strengthen regional solidarity

    • Historical alliances and conflicts - shape the political landscape and influence contemporary cooperation These ties provide a foundation for trust, empathy, and a sense of belonging among member states.

  • Old vs. New Regionalism (Hettne, 1996)

    • Imposed by superpowers - Origin of Old Regionalism

    • Voluntary, multipolar - Origin of New Regionalism

      Nation states - Actors of Old Regionalism

    • Includes non state actors - Actors of New Regionalism

    • Security alliances - Focus of Old Regionalism

    • Multidimensional (economic, cultural, political) - Focus of New Regionalism

  • Geographical Unit - A region is first defined by its physical boundaries, landforms, proximity, and spatial location.

    • Examples: Southeast Asia, bounded by the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean; Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous.

  • Social System - Beyond geography, a region becomes a social system when its people share cultural practices, historical experiences, and economic exchanges.

    • Example: The Silk Road connected Central Asia with East Asia and the Middle East, fostering cultural diffusion.

  • Organized Cooperation - Regions formalize their relationships through institutions and agreements. These structures promote economic, political, and security collaboration.

    • Example: ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) facilitates regional dialogue, trade, and peacekeeping.

  • Civil Society - A region gains depth when citizens and non-state actors actively

    participate in shaping its identity. NGOs, academic institutions, and media

    contribute to regional discourse and advocacy.

    • Example: Environmental groups across Asia working together on climate resilience.

  • Acting Subject - The highest level: the region becomes a self-aware actor in global affairs. It expresses a collective identity, negotiates as a bloc, and influences international policy.

    • Example: The East Asian region asserting its stance on global trade regulations or climate agreements.

  • Central Asia - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan

    • Central Asia - Legacy of the Silk Road, nomadic cultures, post Soviet transitions, strategic energy, reserves

  • East Asia - China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan

    • East Asia - Ancient civilizations, Confucian heritage, technological innovation, regional power dynamics

  • South Asia - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives

    • South Asia - High population density, diverse religions, colonial history, emerging economies

  • Southeast Asia - Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei

    • Southeast Asia - Maritime trade routes, cultural diversity, ASEAN cooperation, Ring of Fire, spice trade

  • Middle East - Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait

    • Middle East - Strategic waterways (e.g., Strait of Hormuz), oil-rich economies, religious epicenter, conflict zones

  • North Asia - Russia (Asian part), Mongolia

    • North Asia - Vast steppes, Siberian resources, historical ties to Central and East Asia

  • Southwest Asia - Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan

    • Southwest Asia - Crossroads of Europe and Asia, ancient empires, geopolitical tension, cultural hybridity

DRIVERS INTEGRATION

  • Dialogue and diplomacy (summits, tourism) - Includes summits, bilateral talks, and cultural tourism that foster mutual trust and cooperation.

  • Trade and investment expansion - Growth in intra-regional trade, foreign direct investment, and shared economic interests.

  • Infrastructure and connectivity - Development of transport, digital, and energy networks that physically and virtually link nations.

  • Shared public goods and regional safety - Collaborative efforts in health, disaster response, climate action, and regional peacekeeping.

BENEFITS OF REGIONALISM

  • Economic Resilience - By pooling resources and coordinating policies, Asian countries can better withstand external shocks like financial crises or pandemics

  • Financial Market Connectivity - This enhances liquidity, reduces transaction costs, and allows for more stable investment flows across borders.

  • Resource Pooling Countries - can share infrastructure, technology, and

    expertise especially in areas like disaster response, energy, and education.

  • Coordinated Response to Crises - Joint frameworks allow for faster, more effective responses to emergencies, whether environmental, health-related, or geopolitical.

CHALLENGES TO INTEGRATION

  • Product standard compatibility - Countries may have varying safety, quality, and labeling standards, making cross border commerce more complex.

  • Financial regulation alignment - Aligning banking rules, capital controls, and risk management practices across diverse economies is a major hurdle.

  • Macroeconomic policy coordination - Inflation targets, fiscal policies, and

    exchange rate regimes often diverge, complicating unified regional strategies.

  • Cross border social and environmental policies - Pollution, migration, and labor standards demand joint action, yet legal and institutional gaps persist.

  • Regionalism - is dynamic and multidimensional

  • Asia’s diversity - presents both opportunities and challenges

  • Cultural identity - is central to sustainable cooperation

Global Media Culture

  • Culture - in simpler terms, refer to human’s way of life – how we present ourselves, what are the choices we make, how we relate with one another, and how we pursue our aspirations

    • Tangible objects - like the clothes we use, the infrastructure we build, the things we create.

      • Material culture - The other term for Tangible Objects

    • Intangible ideas - that we hold dear like our beliefs, traditions, our practices

      • Non material culture - The other term for Intangible Objects

  • Culture - is articulated in symbols or illustrations that convey meanings.

    • Values - what we deem good, desirable, and important

    • Beliefs - what we deem true

    • Practices - how we do things

    • Norms - rule, roles, and expectations that we have and others

      have relative to our membership in a society.

    • Humans - are carriers of Culture.

      • We learn culture from our homes and our communities

      • Accommodation - we may tend to adopt the new culture when we are in public

      • Assimilations - in a larger degree such that we begin to resemble the people in a larger group

  • Cultural Flows - a term often used to refer to the this

    dynamics of culture in the age of globalization.

  • Global Cultural Flows can be viewed in different ways:

    • Cultural differentialism - recognize that cultures are inherently and strongly unique from one another and are not significantly affected by input from other cultures in the process of globalization.

    • Cultural Hybridation - this looks at the global flows as creative process which yield combination of global and local cultures when external inputs interact with internal inputs.

      • Example: The Scapes by Apparudai (1996)

    • Cultural Convergence - recognized that globalization, in some ways, making cultures across nations states a little more similar and homogenous, leading to isomorphic or uniform culture.

    • Cultural Imperialism - when cultures impose themselves to other cultures

    • Deteritorialization - when culture is not anymore tied to the restrictions of the geographical space where it originated.

MEDIA CULTURE

  • Media - a means of conveying something; a channel of communication.

    • Media is instrumental and supportive of various domains of

      globalization – economic, political, and cultural.

  • Oral Communication, Script, Printing Press, Electronic Media, Digital Media - globalization and media can be captured in five distinct eras:

  • Acculturised - without any substance associated with any culture.

  • Deculturalised - made to be appealing to global audiences by removing specific elements.

  • Reculturalised - given another cultural touch.

The Globalization of Religion

  • Religion - is defined as a unified system of beliefs and practices related to faith, the sacred, and the spiritual.

  • Religion - provides inspiration and guidance in life, contributes to meaning and purpose, shapes identity, and promotes sense of belongingness. This immediately indicates that religion is not only for the good of the whole society but also satisfies some human need and some aspect of life of the social individuals.

  • 84% - identify themselves as part of a religious group, while approximately 16 percent are unaffiliated.

  • 4,000 - There are more than ______ recognized religions in the world today, and almost 8 in 10 people practice one of the major faiths

  • Globalization - doesn't create new religions, but it fundamentally changes how we experience and practice faith.

  • Globalization is the process making our planet increasingly interconnected and interdependent.

    • Digital Networks - The Internet and social media connect billions instantly across continents

    • Global Mobility - International travel and migration bring diverse communities together

    • Economic Exchange - Global trade and business create worldwide economic partnerships

    • Cultural Flow - Media and entertainment spread ideas and values across borders

  • Historical Reality - Most people encountered only their local area's dominant religion, creating relatively homogeneous spiritual landscapes.

  • Today's Reality - We live in a "global supermarket of beliefs" where diverse faiths intersect daily through neighbors, media, and online communities.

  • Deterritorialization - Modern technology has revolutionized religious community, separating faith from its original geographic location. Your spiritual home might now exist primarily online or span multiple continents.

    • Virtual Worship - Live streaming religious services connects believers to ceremonies happening thousands of miles away, making distance irrelevant to participation.

    • Digital Communities - Online forums unite believers from every continent, creating stronger bonds with distant co religionists than nearby neighbors of different faiths.

    • Global Identity - Religious identity increasingly transcends national or local loyalties, potentially creating conflicts between global faith communities and local societies.

  • Amplification - Global communication tools transform religious messages into powerful forces that can instantly reach millions worldwide. This amplification serves as a neutral tool that magnifies whatever message it carries.

    • Amplifying Peace - Messages of love, charity, and interfaith dialogue spread instantly worldwide, building bridges between communities and promoting understanding across cultural divides.

    • Amplifying Conflict - Messages of hate, extremism, and calls to violence also spread instantly worldwide, radicalizing individuals and inciting religious conflicts across borders.

  • The Rise of ISIS - ISIS strategically exploited globalization's tools to build a global movement.

    • Deterritorialization - How did ISIS create a global identity that transcended national boundaries and attracted followers from dozens of countries?

    • Amplification Tools - What specific digital platforms and communication strategies did they use to spread their extremist message worldwide

    • Religious Justification - How did they manipulate religious teachings to justify violence and recruit members to their cause?

  • Global religious - networks can promote dialogue, humanitarian cooperation, and peaceful conflict resolution when directed toward constructive goals.