The Contemporary World

(Week 1-2)
DEFINING GLOBALIZATION

What is Globalization?
Globalization encompasses a multitude of processes that involves the economy, political
systems, and culture. Social structures, therefore, are directly affected by globalization. It cannot be
contained within a specific time frame, all people, and all situations. (Al-Rhodan, 2006)
Since the first appearance of the word ‘Globalization’ in the Webster’s Dictionary in 1961, many
opinions about globalization have flourished. The literature on the definitions of globalization revealed
that definitions could be classified as either (1) broad and inclusive or (2) narrow and exclusive.
1. Broad and Inclusive
In describing the opportunity by which people or factors behind a certain development in a country
benefits as well.
Example of broad and inclusive definition of globalization:
“Globalization means the onset of the borderless world. For instance, the cosmetic owners here in our
country in which the manufacturer of their product is outside the country, and they marketed and
financed these inside our country.”
2. Narrow and Exclusive
Its definitions are better justified but can be limiting, in the sense that their application adhere top only
particular definitions. Definitions mainly focuses on the development of a country and on the
enhancement of its policies.
Example of narrow and exclusive definition of globalization:
“The characteristics of the globalization trend include the in internationalizing of production, the new
international division of labor, new migratory movements from South to North, the new competitive
environment that accelerates these processes.

Weeks 3-5:
The Structures of Globalization
THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

8 MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

• Eradicate the extreme Poverty and Hunger
• Achieve Universal Primary Education
• Promote Gender Equality and Women Empowerment
• Reduce Child Mortality
• Improve Maternal Health
• Combat diseases like HIV/AIDS and Malaria
• Ensure Environmental Sustainability
• Have a Global Partnership for Development

FEDERAL POVERTY THRESHOLD

Extreme poverty according to UN

Severe deprivation of basic human needs
• Food
• Safe drinking water
• Sanitation facilities
• Health
• Shelter
 • Education
• Information

Walt Rostow’s 4 Stages of Modernization

• Traditional Stage
• Take-off Stage
• Drive to Technological Maturity
• High Mass Consumption

Theories of Global Stratification

Global Stratification
Refers to the unequal distribution of wealth, power, prestige, resources, and influence among the
world’s nations. Put more simply, there is an extreme difference between the richest and poorest
nations.

Two Dimensions of Global Stratification:

• Gap between nations
• Gap within nations

Modernization Theory
This theory frames global stratification as a function of technological and cultural differences
between nations.

During modernization theory, two historical events happened:

1. Columbian Exchange
2. Industrial Revolution

Columbian Exchange
- refers to the spread of goods, technologies, education and diseases between the Americas and
Europe after Christopher Columbus’s so called “discovery of the Americas”.

Industrial Revolution
- new technologies allowed countries to replace human labor with machines and increase productivity.

Modernization Theory asserts that being wealthy could be attained by everyone.

But why did Industrial Revolution not take hold everywhere?
According to modernization theory, a society that is so stiff when it comes to their tradition and culture
may be less willing to accept change.

Why has Europe become so modern?

- They are applying the protestant work ethic. Meaning, their success in life is attached to their
personal virtue.

The idea of Modernization Theory in general, argues that if when we invest capital in technology,
more wealth is coming and it can change the overall well-being of the people.

ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION AND GLOBAL TRADE

WHAT IS ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION?

According to the United Nations (as cited in Shangquan, 2000), "Economic Globalization refers to
the increasing interdependence of world economies as a result of the growing scale of cross border
trade of commodities and services, flow of international capital, and wide and rapid spread of
technologies. It reflects the continuing expansion and natural integration of market frontiers and is an
irreversible trend for economic development in the whole world at the turn of the millennium".

There are two different types of economies associated with Economic Globalization:
1. PROTECTIONISM
"A policy of systematic government intervention in foreign trade with the objective of encouraging
domestic production. This encouragement involves giving preferential treatment to domestic producers
and discriminating against foreign competitors" (McAleese, 2007 as Cited in Ritzer, 2015)
2. TRADE LIBERALIZATION
Is the removal of reduction of restrictions or barriers on the free exchange of goods between nation.

Globalization made countries gain more in the global economy at the expense of other nations. There
are various ways. However, the country can make trade easier with other countries while lessening the
inequities in the global world. One of them is "Fair trade" (Nicholls and Opal, 2005)

Fair trade - as defined by the international fair trade association, it is the "concern for the social,
economic, and environmental well being of marginalized small producers" (Downie, 2007, pp.c1-c5).

World System Theory

Immanuel Wallerstein developed World Systems Theory and its three-level hierarchy: core, periphery,
and semi-periphery.

• PERIPHERAL NATIONS
Are countries that are less developed and receive an unequal distribution of the word's wealth.

• CORE NATIONS
Are more industrialized nations who receive the majority of the word's wealth.
There are two main types of Economic Inequality:

Wealth Inequality
- It is the unequal distribution of assets among people and organizations.

Income Inequality
- It is how unevenly income is distributed throughout a population. It is often accompanied by
wealth inequality, which is the uneven distribution of wealth.

What is the relationship between economic globalization, poverty and inequality?

“Globalization leads to poverty reduction, and it reduces income inequality”. Yunus (2012)

ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

CYCLE OF EFFICIENCY
This cycle harms the planet in a number of ways. Many experts do not think that the planet can sustain
a growing global economy. Deforestation, pollution, and climate change will not adjust for us, especially
if increases in living standards lead people to demand more consumer goods like cars, meat, and
smartphones. Harvey (2005) noted that neoliberals and environmentalists debate the impact of free
trade in the environment.

There are significant challenges involved in implementing various measures such as “carbon tax” and
“carbon neutrality” to deal with environmental problems (Ritzer, 2015)

For example, Barnuevo (2007) stated that the use of ethanol as an alternative to gasoline has an
attendant set of problems –it is less efficient and it has led to an escalation in the price of corn, which
currently serves as a major source of ethanol

Previous experience in dealing with environmental issues indicates that a global view of the problem
is required.

MARKET INTEGRATION

The social institution that has one of the biggest impacts is the Economy.

Market
- Is a set of affairs or a process of involving attempts to combine separate national economic
into larger economic region.

THREE TYPES OF MARKET INTEGRATION

1. Horizontal Integration
- This occurs when a firm or agency gains control of other firms or agencies performing similar
marketing functions at the same level in the marketing sequence.
- In this type of integration, some marketing agencies combine to form a union with a view to reducing
their effective number and the extent of actual competition in the market.

2. Vertical Integration
- This occurs when a firm performs more than one activity in the sequence of the marketing process.
- It is a linking together of two or more functions in the marketing process within a single firm or under
a single ownership.

3. Conglomeration
- A combination of agencies or activities not exactly related to each other, when it operates under
unified management, be termed a conglomeration

THREE SECTORS OF ECONOMY

• PRIMARY SECTOR
Involves services rather than goods

• SECONDARY SECTOR
Extracts raw materials from natural environments

• TERTIARY SECTOR
Gains the raw materials and transform them into manufactured

IFI refers to financial Institution that have been established by more than one country. The most
prominent IFIs are creations of multiple nations, although some bilateral financial institutions.

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS (IFI)

Common Goals of IFI:
- To reduce global poverty and improve people’s living conditions and standards
- To support sustainable economic, social institutional development; and
- To promote regional cooperation and integration

The Bretton Woods System

(1940s to 1970s)

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade & World Trade Organization

- The GATT was a treaty created after World War II that regulated World Trade in an effort to
aid economic recovery. GATT’s main objective was to remove the barriers blocking
international trade by reducing tariffs, quotas, and subsidies.
- World Trade Organization is an organization which regulates international trade.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)

- It serves as to stabilize the International Monetary System acts as a monitor of the world’s
currencies.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

- Is an intergovernmental organizations with 38 members countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate
economic progress and World trade.

Organization Of European Economic Cooperation(OEEC)

- On the 1948-OEEC was founded implemented martial plant. The martial plant was 8th program
initiate the body of United States of America

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries intergovernmental organization of 13
countries.
European Union (UN)
 - The aims of the European Union within its borders are to promote peace, its values and well-
being of its citizen.
- It is made up of 28 member states.
- Most members in the European zone adopted the Euro as basic currency but some Western
European nations like Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark did not.

NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

History of NAFTA
- It was first created in 1989 with only Canada and the United States as trading partners.
(Canadian-U.S. Free Trade Agreement)
- On January 01, 1994, Mexico joined the two other nations.
- It was developed during U.S. Pres. George Bush’s administration and was negotiated with
Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and Mexican Pres. Carlos Salinas de Gortari.
- It was signed into law by U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton.
- On July 01, 2020, it was replaced by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

History of Global Market Integration

Before the rise of today’s modern economy, people only produced for their family. Nowadays,
economy demands the different sectors to work together in order to produce, distribute, and exchange
products and services.

Why did Industrial Revolution start?

Before Industrial Revolution manufacturing took place in homes or rural areas and it was done by hand.
Some products made in home (including clothing, furniture, tools, cloth, hardware, jewelry, leather,
silverware, and weapons) were even exchanged for food. But people lived in fear that the crops they
grew might fail, as many of them already suffered from malnutrition. In addition, diseases and other
epidemics were unfortunately common. Hence machines were introduced to enhance the effective
production.
Causes of Industrial Revolution
Historians have identified several causes for the Industrial Revolution, including: the emergence of
capitalism, European imperialism, efforts to mine coal, and the effects of the Agricultural
Revolution.

CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM

There are two competing economic models that spring up around the Industrial Revolution, as
economic capital became more and more important in the production of goods.

Capitalism and socialism are economic systems that countries use to manage their economic
resources and regulate their means of production. In fact, few countries today are purely one or the
other.

Capitalism (Adam Smith, 1770)

- In situations like these, a government might step in and force the company to break up into
smaller companies to increase competition. Market failures like this is the reason most
countries are not purely capitalist societies.

Disadvantages
• Unequal distribution of wealth
• Could result in costs to the environment
• Propensity for industrial unrest
• Labor could be under-valued and exploited
• Capital could reside with a few people

Advantages
• Optimization of Resources
• Leads to increased individual wealth
• Increases consumer choices
• More efficient production
• Results in profit maximization
Socialism
- It rejects the capitalism’s private property and hands-off approaches. Instead, property is
owned by the government and allocated to all citizens, not only in those with the money to
afford it.

Disadvantages

• Less business operation motivation

• More unions in the businesses
• Lack of innovation
• Reduction of labor force
• More government spending
• More regulated industries

Advantages

• Economic Equality
• Improved standards in public well-being
• No worker exploitation
• Improved Labor Productivity
• Well-regulated free-market
• Less poverty level in the society

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Socialism is an economic and political system under which the means of production are publicly
owned. Production and consumer prices are controlled by the government to best meet the needs
of the people.

Capitalism is an economic system under which the means of production are privately owned.
Production and consumer prices are based on a free-market system of “supply and demand.”

THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION

Primary Labor Market & Secondary Labor Market

The primary labor market includes jobs that provide many benefits to workers, like high incomes, job
security, health insurance, and retirement packages.

Secondary labor market jobs provide fewer benefits and include lower-skilled jobs and lower-level
service sector jobs. They tend to pay less, have more unpredictable schedules, and typically do not
offer benefits like health insurance. They also tend to have less job security.

THE GLOBAL INTERSTATE SYSTEM

The theory of the interstate system holds that all states are defined through their relationship to other
states or through participation in the world economy, and that divisions between states help to divide
the world into a core, periphery and semi-periphery.

Three-tiered hierarchy: Core, Semi-periphery & Periphery

Social movements are movements of people that are spontaneous or that emerge through enormous
grassroots organization. Most of the time, they are not seen as a threat, but they definitely challenge
state sovereignty.

GLOBAL ECONOMICS
• Free market
A free market is one where voluntary exchange and the laws of supply and demand provide
the sole basis for the economic system, without government intervention.
 • NEOLIBERAL ECONOMICS
Focuses on free trade and dismantling trade barriers.

PEACE TREATIES AND MILITARY ALLIANCES: THE UN AND NATO

The term "United Nations" was coined by former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 (United
Nations, 2011). Its operations began on October 24, 1945. It started with 50 representatives from
different countries.

Generally, it functions in four areas: military issues, economic issues, environmental issues, and
human protection. It is made up of close to 200 countries from around the world, 193 member states
to be exact, with the Republic of South Sudan as its latest member (United Nations, 2011).

WHAT IS PEACE AND SECURITY?

According to the UN (2011), peace and security are maintained "by working to prevent conflict; helping
parties in conflict make peace; peacekeeping; and creating the conditions to allow peace to hold and
flourish.

NATO AND UN
Non-Government Organizations
NGOs are non-governmental, voluntary associations of people and communities, which
work at local, regional, national, or international levels. They are organized for a mission with aims
and objects of common social good. They get funding from charities, donors, and Government
agencies to perform social services.

Some are organized around specific issues:

• Human rights
• Environment
• Health Poverty eradication
• Employment

NGO’s Classification

By level of orientation:
1. Charitable orientation
2. Service orientation
3. Participatory orientation
4. Empowering orientation

By level of operation:
1. Community based organization
2. City wide organizations
3. National NGO’S
4. International NGO's

Types of NGO'S
• Red Cross (Red Crescent in Muslim countries)
They provide emergency relief such as food, water, and medical supplies for those whose
homes or towns have been destroyed by disaster or war. They also monitor the treatment of prisoner
of wars and go to conflicts to make sure that no war crimes are taking Place. In fact, the Red Cross
began as an organization to help those who were wounded during wars. The big Red Cross worn by
NGOS is the identification that they are not soldiers.

The Contemporary World is characterized by being connected through;

- Internet
- Modern transportation
- Advanced communication
- Technologies
Contemporary Global Governance

Specific Factors behind the Emergence of Global Governance

• Declining power of nation-states. I state themselves were "highly contingent and in flux" (Cerny,
2007, p. 854), it would open the possibility of the emergence of some form of global governance
to fill the void.

• Vast flows of all sorts of things that run into and often right through the borders of nation-states.
This could involve the flow of digital information of all sorts through the Internet. It is difficult, if
not impossible, for a nation-state to stop such flow and in any case.
• There is mass migration of people and their entry, often illegally, Into various nation- states. If
states are unable to control this flow, then there is a need for same sort of global governance to
help deal with the problem. The flow of criminal elements, as well as their products (drugs,
laundered money, those bought and sold in sex trafficking, etc.), is a strong factor in the call for
global governance.

• Another set of issues that has led to calls for global governance Involves horrendous events
within nation-states that the states themselves either foment and carry out, or are unable to
control (Nordstrom, 2004).

WHAT IS NATIONAL IDENTITY?

• National Identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one state or to one nation.
It is the sense of " a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture,
and language.

Week 6-8

World of Regions
GLOBAL DEVIDES: THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH
“In Globalization, there is no such thing as absolute interconnectedness. There will always be factors
that will separate a place, a world, and individual, or a group to the rest of the world.” (Cabanero, 2021)

As we all know, this is an American flag. America is one of the most influential countries in terms of
politics and economy. However, when we use America and add another word before America such as
Latin, the whole concept will change. Now, what is Latin America?

Latin America refers to the countries that were colonized by the Spaniards in the American continent.
contrary to the ideal America, Latin America on the other hand, reminds people of poverty, and
corruption. If we try to look in the history of the word ‘Latin’, it has divided the South America to the rest
of the world.
First World and Second World
The capitalist economists were considered First World and communist economist were
referred to as Second World.

Capitalism- an economic and political system, in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled
by private owners for profit rather than by the state. They believe that every individual has the right to
own properties.
Communism- A system where all property is public—people work and are given things by the
government according to their needs. There is a collective ownership of property unlike in capitalism.
GLOBAL NORTH AND GLOBAL SOUTH
The Global North- refers to developed societies of Europe and North America, which are characterized
by established wealth, technological advancement, political stability zero population growth and
dominance of world trade and politics. Considered as the high-income countries.
The Global South- refers to the developing countries which represents mainly agrarian economies in
Africa, India, Latin America and other that are not economically sound and politically stable. Tend to be
characterized by war, conflict, and poverty. Considered as less developed countries.
• First World encompassed all industrialized, democratic countries, which were assumed to be
allied with the United States in its struggle against the Soviet Union.
• Second World was anchored on the industrialized, communist realm of the Soviet Union and
its eastern European satellites, yet it often included poor communist states located elsewhere.
• Third World refers to countries that did not belong to both types of formal economies. Defined
as the non-aligned world and as the global realm of poverty and under-developed.

ASIAN REGIONALISM
What is Regionalism?
• A political ideology that favors a specific region over a greater area.
• It usually results due to political separations, religion, geography, cultural boundaries, linguistic
regions and managerial divisions.
What is Regionalization?
• The division of a nation into states or provinces.
Asian Regionalism
A product of economic interaction between Asian countries.
• Asian economies have grown not only richer, but also closer together through trade, financial
flows, investments, and other forms of economic and social exchange.
• New technological trends have further strengthened ties among them, as have the rise of China
and India and the region’s growing weight in the global markets.

Regionalization Vs. Globalization

• As to nature, globalization promotes the integration of economics across state borders all
around the world, but regionalization is precisely the opposite because it is dividing an area into
smaller segments.
• As to market, globalization allows many companies to trade on international level, so it allows
free market but in regionalized system, monopolies are likely to develop.
• As to cultural and societal relations, globalization accelerate to multiculturalism by free and
inexpensive movement of people but, regionalization does not support this.
 • As to aid, globalized international community is also more willing to come to the aid of a country
stricken by a natural disaster but, a regionalized system does not get involved in the affairs of
other areas.

Factors Leading to the Greater Integration of the Asian Regions

• Regional integration is a process in which neighboring states enter into an agreement in order
to upgrade cooperation through common institutions and rules.
• The objectives of the agreement could range from economic to political to environmental,
although it has typically taken the form of a political economy initiative.
• Regional integration has been organized either via supranational institutional structure or
through intergovernmental decision-making, or a combination of both.
• Intra-regional trade refers to trade which focuses on economic exchange primarily between
countries of the same region or economic zone.

(Week 10-11)
A WORLD OF IDEAS
GLOBAL MEDIA CULTURES

GLOBALIZATION- The increase process by which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected
as a result of massively increased trade and cultural exchange.

MEDIA- A tool for the interaction of people within different cultures

• A carrier of culture
• Play significant roles in shaping the global process of economics, politics, and culture—the
three aspects that make up the multidimensionality of globalization.

CULTURE- Unified style of human knowledge, beliefs, and behavior, from which people learn, the
ability to communicate knowledge to the next generation. Its development has been mainly influenced
by media.
What is Global Media Culture?
➢ Global Media Cultures explores the relationship between the media, culture, and globalization.
➢ Arjun Appadurai (1996) contents that advances in media together with migration, changing
migration patterns as people easily move around the world due to the advancement of
technology and transportation. This fundamentally changed the human life and give way to
globalization.
• Globalization could not occur without media.
• Globalization and media have proceeded together through time and supported these claims by
outlining the development of media throughout time. The essence of these ideas is simplified
in the statement that “media have made globalization possible”.
FIVE STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIA
ORAL COMMUNICATION
• Language allows humans to communicate and share information
• Became the most important tool for exploring the world and the different cultures.
• Language help people move and settle down.

SCRIPT
• It allowed humans to communicate over a large space and for a much longer duration
• It allowed the permanent codification of economic, cultural, and political practice.

PRINTING PRESS
• It allows the continuous production, reproduction, and circulation of print materials.
ELECTRONIC MEDIA
• It includes the telegraph, telephones, radio, film and television.
• The wide range of these media continue to open up new perspectives in economic, political,
and cultural process.
MEDIA
• It allows the advertisement of productions and online business transactions

WHAT IS GLOBAL INTEGRATION?

• The process with which the local Indian market opens up to the global economy.
• The global integration can involve the processes of product standardization and technology
development centralization.

Globalization isn’t possible to occur without media.

• Electronic media allow opportunities to spread all over the world. Radio and Television is a
powerful mass medium in providing accessible information for people. Digital media through
phones and computers allows people to access information around the world.

GLOBAL AND LOCAL CULTURAL PRODUCTS

WHAT IS GLOBAL PRODUCT?
• Those products that are marketed internationally under the same brand name, features, and
specifications across countries. Examples: Mc Donalds, Coca Cola, and Apple Iphone.
• Cultural products are goods and services such as arts, architectures, museums etc. that
showcase the history and information of certain which belongs to the country’s heritage.
• With the use of media and internet, global products can be easily shown to people in getting
people’s attention.

Dynamics Between Global and Local Cultural Production

CULTURAL DIFFERENTIALISM
• It views cultural differences as immutable.

CULTURAL CONVERGENCE
• It suggests that globalization engenders growing sameness of culture.

CULTURAL HYBRIDITY
• It suggests that globalization spawns an increasing and ongoing mixing cultures.
GLOCALIZATION
• Coined from globalization and localization, is a new concept brought about by increased
frequency of contact among cultures.
• Reinforces the fact that local cultures are not weak, static, or fixed; they are built and
understood as a new each day in globalized world.

IMPORTANT DETAILS:
• Five stages of development of media have greatly influenced the globalization of culture. From
pamphlets of Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat.
• Media has produced and reproduced cultural products around the globe.
• The increase in cultural interactions generated by media results in outcomes that exhibit the
vigor of local cultures influenced by the globe cultures.

THE GLOBALIZATION OF RELIGION

• Globalization refers to the historical process by which all the world’s people increasingly come
to live in a single social unit. It implicates religion and religions in several ways.
• From religious or theological perspectives, globalization calls for the religious response and
interpretation.

GLOBALIZATION AND RELIGION

➢ When the vision of globalization is applied to religion, we can suggest that we will steady
change from the conventional form of religion linked intimately to the histories and cultures of
respective nations and ethnic groups. Instead, the activities of individual religious groups will
take on the increasing characteristic of free competition on a global scale. There is also a
possibility of witnessing great transformations in the traditional structure of the historical
religions.

Tools of uniting people all over the world on religious basis

❑ Books
❑ Movies
❑ Cell phone apps
❑ Social networks
❑ Charity funds
❑ Special internet sites
❑ Religious schools

IMPACTS OF GLOBALIZATION TO RELIGIONS

➢ The evangelical Christian’s missionary activity across the nations.
➢ Emerging multi-religious phenomena.
➢ Increasing conflicts about different religious assumptions about other’s freedom and different
religious behavior.
➢ An explosive and revolutionary movement against globalism, and the development of religious
terrorists.
➢ Religious are narrowly used to justify national identity.
➢ Religion and globalization are in conflict.

Globalization and Local Diversity of Religion

• Geographers find the tension in scale between globalization and local diversity especially
acute in religion for a number of reasons.
• People care deeply about their religion;
• Some religious are designed to appeal to people throughout the world, whereas other religions
appear primarily in geographically limited areas;
• Religious values are important in how people identify themselves, the way they organized
landscape;
• Adopting a global religion usually requires turning away from a traditional local religion;
• While migrants typically learn the language of the new location, they retain their religion.
(Week 12-14)

GLOBAL POPULATION AND MOBILITY

THE GLOBAL CITY

● The development of Global Cities and conditions of the world that contributes to Globalization.
● The 21st Century is a hub for closer relation of states and for a wider perspective of
technological development.

According to Thomas Friedman in his book The World is Flat (2005), the three (3) Stages of
Globalization are:
1. Globalization 1.0
➔ Lasted from 1942 to 1800
➔ Known as the age of mercantilism and colonialism
➔ “shrank the world from a size large to a size medium”
➔ Driving forces were workforce, horsepower, windpower, and steam power.
2. Age of Pax Britannica
➔ Great Britain was the hegemonic power in terms of trade and economy
➔ Known as Globalization 2.0
➔ Driving force were new institutions such as global market and multinational
corporations.
3. Age of Pax Americana
➔ Occurred during the second half of the 20th century.
➔ Also known as Globalization 3.0
➔ United States of America become the sole superpower in the so-called Unipolar
World.

● SOFT POWER uses a different method to establish cooperation-attraction. The present

condition uses this in maintaining one’s influence over another state. This form of power
“arises from the attractiveness of a country’s of culture, political ideas, and policies”. (Joseph
Nye, 2004)
● One of the drivers of global change is the emergence of a deeply interconnected global
economy that increasingly operates as a whole.

Multinational Corporations (MNCs)

● Play a substantial role in the global economy and international political community.
● Enjoy a multitude of privileges such as unquestionable access to vast amounts of wealth
● More flexible and independent in comparison to nation-state.
● MNCs and the continuity of nation-states acts as key actors of the global community. With
these, the world seem to be more connected. The evidence of such connectivity is the concept
and actual manifestation of the GLOBAL CITY.

Global City
 - It serves as a hub for production, finance and telecommunications.
- Constant interaction among a wide array of cultures is a conglomeration of cultures in a
particular geographical setting which has been labeled as GLOBAL CITY.
- Global cities are also perceived as sources of economic growth and arev also economic
powerhouses themselves, with being industry leaders and regional hubs.

Sassen (2005) outline the characteristics of globality. And these are:

1. The cultural diversity of the people.
2. Existence of a center of economy.
3. Geographic dispersal of economic activities that marks globalization.
4. Global reach performance

GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY
● Demography is a field in statistics that is concerned with births, deaths, income, pr the
incidence of disease, which later illustrates the changing structure of human populations. In
simple words, demography is the statistical study to determine world population.
● Globalization is the continual increase in transnational and worldwide economic, social, and
cultural interactions that surpass the boundaries of states (Viotti and Kauppi, 2013)
● The 21st century world is becoming more globalized and interconnected.

Examples of new trends in international relations:

1. Technological innovations
2. Economic cooperations
3. Political alliance in the international arena

WORLD POPULATION PERCENTAGE

Global Civil Society

● The changing perspectives of on technology and technological advancements and the
movement of international organizations (IOs) have made the world a Global Civil Society.
● The idea of a global civil society was seen during the '90s as "a mosaic of new groups,
organizations, and movements that started to appear, which both sought to challenge or resist
what was seen as 'corporate' globalization and create articulate models of social, economic,
and political development" (Heywood, 2011).

Global Demography
 ● Global demography is about the trends and practices in world politics. It is the study of the
issues and developments of the global population. Basically, it lays out the present condition of
the world and its population.
● According to Ronald Lee (2003), demography is currently in transition, the mortality rate
declined followed by fertility, causing population growth rates to accelerate and then to slow
down again.
● The global demographic transition all began in the 19th century when Europeans were
declining in mortality rate (Lee, 2003) and there were some rising societies in Asian and Latin
American regions.

GLOBAL MIGRATION
During the Cold War, leaders all over the globe agreed to classify the world into three (3) categories:
1. First World refers to states which have high-income and are capital-rich.
2. Second World refers to the former communist-socialist, industrial states.
3. Third World refers to nations not aligned with either the First World or Second World which are
also called "developing countries”.

The classification of countries into three was changed into two: developed and developing.
1. Developed countries are countries that have progressive economies and advanced
technological infrastructures
2. Developing countries are low-income countries with less developed industrial bases.

Categories of Global Civilizations

1. Western 6. Buddhist
2. Latin American 7. Orthodox
3. Islamic 8. Japanese
4. Sinic 9. African
5. Hindu

Cosmopolitanism literally means the adherence or belief in the world state. It is the ideology that all
human beings belong to a single community (Heywood, 2011)
Types of Migration
1. Internal Migration is any movement from one place to another.
2. International Migration is any movement from one country to another.
 Due to transnational relations and the growing demand for economic wealth, migration exists. It is
defined as the form of social behavior that both shapes and is shaped by broader social and economic
structures and processes of transformation (International Migration Institute, 2011)

Categories of Global Migration

Voluntary Economic Forced Displacement Refugee Crisis

Migration

Is rooted in the pursuit of Traced to the factors of state Traced to the factors of state
economic stability. tyranny, corruption, or fear tyranny, corruption, or fear

Example of this is OFW

● According to Boswell (2002), forced displacement and the refugee crisis could be traced to the
factors of state tyranny or corruption or the fear of violence such as civil war.
● Another effect of migration in the Philippines is the brain drain. In 2009, the Philippine Institute
of Development Studies found out that fifty percent of employed Filipino emigrants have tertiary
education and only 14.5 percent of them are managers and professionals, 26.6 percent of them
are working as technicians and clerks, and the rest are operators known as service workers
(Zosa & Obeta, 2009).
● Migration plays a vital role in the social, economic, and political aspects of the Philippines. With
the country reliant on labor export, OFWs are seen to be major economic drivers of the country.

(WEEK 15-16)
TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE WORLD

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
As defined by the Brundtland Report, “sustainable development is the development that meets the
need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

The World Commission on the Environment and Development (WCED) outlined critical
objectives for environment and development policies, these are:
 1. Reviving growth
2. Changing the quality of growth
3. Meeting essential needs for jobs, food energy, water, and sanitation
4. Ensuring a sustainable level of population
5. Conserving and enhancing the resource base
6. Reorientating technology and managing risks
7. Merging environment and economics in decision-making

AGENDA 21
Advocates education to disseminate information regarding sustainable development (Jickling, 1994).
Since then, countries all over the world have integrated this action plan of the UN in their respective
governments.

Sustainability and Stability

• Sustainability - A sustainable environment is resilient enough to withstand man-made and
natural challenges and can also recover from such if needs arise.
• Stability - Stable environments are simply resistant to change but somehow lack the
element of resiliency that sustainable environments possess because it is far easier for
stable environments to become unstable in comparison to the possibility of sustainable
environments becoming “unsustainable.”
Take Note: Sustainability LEADS to Stability while Stability alone MAY NOT necessarily led to
Sustainability.

In the long run, humankind itself will be the one to benefit when environmental and ecological
considerations are given serious and substantial consideration.
Educating individuals about the importance and benefits of having a secure, balanced, and enduring
ecosystems will make the implementation of environment-focused policies and plans much easier, and
in the long term, will create a flourishing and stable environment for all.

GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

Food is a vital source to maintain life and growth in humans, regardless of race, nationality, religious
affiliation, economic status, or educational attainment. It is a necessity for survival. Therefore, it is
important for nations to secure a constant supply of food for the consumption of people.
Food Security
Defined as the “physical and economic access, at all times, to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food
for people to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”
(Swaminathan, 2003)

With the growing and persistent demand for food on both the local and international scale, the
agricultural sector and food corporations in a nation must be able to meet demands by increasing
production capacity and overall productivity.
• Rationing of Food
- rationing of food in developing or underdeveloped countries may be a solution to address food
security issues, although this solution can lead to even more problems.
 • International Trade
• viewed as a solution to potentially dampen the blows on food security in nations. While relatively
poor countries can benefit from international trade by receiving subsidies from rich countries, the
latter will be pressured to increase food production capabilities.
• Economic and agricultural reforms
- have been proven viable in addressing food security issues like in the case of China, one of
the most populated countries in the world. In 1978, China began reforms in these sectors to
ensure food security for the country and its people.

Contributing factors that weakens food security:

• Armed conflict
- In the recent decades, internal strife has deliberated food production and supplies in countries
such as Israel, Turkey, and Syria. Armed groups against a legitimate government target to
prevent, seize, and/or destroy food aid that is intended for government armed forces. The effects
of these circumstances also spill over to neighboring countries due to international trade.
• Hunger
- Also leads to conflict, and as mentioned, leads to an increased shortage of food. It is not only
limited to rural areas but is also an issue plaguing urban sectors especially in countries with
internal conflicts.
Indeed, food plays an integral role in maintaining a healthy, functioning, and even peaceful domestic
and international environment. Therefore, food security must be one of the priorities of any
government in the world.

(Week 17-18)
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

Global – relating to the whole world; worldwide.

Citizenship – the position or status of being a citizen of a particular country.
Global Citizenship - a moral and ethical disposition that can guide the understanding of individuals
or groups of local and global contexts and remind them of their relative responsibilities within various
communities Caecilia Johanna van Peski (as cited in Baraldi).
Global Citizens
• Global citizens are the glue which binds local communities together in an increasingly
globalized world.
• In Van Peski’s words, "global citizens might be a new type of people that can travel within
these various boundaries and somehow still make sense of the world" (Baraldi, 2012).

Approaches to Global Economic Resistance

• Trade Protectionism
the systematic government intervention in foreign trade through tariffs and nontariff barriers
in order to encourage domestic producers and deter their foreign competitors (McAleese,
2007).

• Fair Trade
- emerged as a counter to neoliberal "free trade" principles (Nicholls and Opal, 2005).
- aims at a more moral and equitable global economic system.

• Helping the Bottom Billion (Collor, 2007)

 - Increasing aid is only one of the many measures that are required, international norms and
standards can be adapted to the needs of the bottom billion.

THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM

- centered on addressing the lack of democracy in economic and political affairs
(Fisher and Ponniah, 2003).

SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE
• CYBER ACTIVISM- based on the "cultural logic of networking" (Juris, 2005) and "virtual
movements," such as Global Huaren.
• CYBERPUBLIC- formed as a protest against the violence, discrimination, and hatred
experienced by Chinese residents in Indonesia after the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Fulfilling the promises of globalization and the solution to the problems of the contemporary world
does not lie on a single entity or individual, but on citizens, the community, and the different
organizations in societies.