Globalization : Developing Countries And Globalisation

We are currently impacted by global processes, of unprecedented magnitude. On the positive side, our world is characterized (and increasingly) by a rapid increase in trade, both of capital, goods and services, including information, ideas, technologies and cultural patterns. On the negative side, we experience processes enormous concentration of wealth and social marginalization, and a rapid enlargement of the gap between developed and underdeveloped countries in the world, while appear on the horizon an ecological crisis of global reach.

Although the first use of the term ‘globalization’ can be traced back to the 1940s, it was only after half a century that this concept stormed the public consciousness. The buzzword ‘globalization’ exploded into the ‘Roaring nineties’ because it captured the increasingly interdependent nature of social life on this planet. Earlier the concept of globalization was viewed as a techo-economic juggernaut spreading western culture and the intellection of capitalism and quashing local beliefs and national traditions. Thus, it was viewed as a ripple of Americanization. One corollary of the propagation of this perspective created fears in the minds of people, who had utter love and affection towards their own culture.

During the last decade of the twentieth century, the word ‘globalization’ has become an increasingly prominent feature of political, social, and economic discussion in academic and policymaking circles, as well as in the media. The processes and outcomes of globalization drew attention and debates that had one thing in common. The research shows that nearly everyone agrees that globalization is a trend that is changing the face of the world, and as a result the world society lives in a more ‘globalized’ world. Nearly two and a half decades passed since 1990s, and studies have been conducted to examine the causes and consequences of globalization. Moreover, nearly every person experiences some type of globalization and can testify firsthand the effects it has on their life, society, and the state. The analysis of the effects that globalization dynamics have on the world society indicates that globalization has a significant positive impact via spreading opportunities and wealth across nations, stimulating innovation and productivity, enhancing the economic development of poorer countries, and helping to improve living standards.

As Martin Luther King had said, ‘It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated’1. Globalisation is a term that can be defined in various ways. It is a complex process that does not have a clear beginning or end, rather it is something that has developed, strengthened and deepened over time. Globalisation is a process of integration, interconnection and exchange between peoples from different parts of the world. It is the connection and expansion of international, cultural, economic and political activities. Globalisation is a concept that transforms the various relationships across and between countries, regions and continents. Having a long history within the world, globalisation and the interconnection process can be divided into three main periods including archaic globalisation, proto-globalisation and modern globalisation. So, was there globalisation before the 1600s? This paper aims to explore the concept and context of globalisation along with some of its historical roots prior to the 1600s in order to provide a definitive answer.

Globalisation is a complex and multifaceted set of processes having diverse and widespread impacts on human societies worldwide. Despite widespread interest in its emergence and impact there is only a limited consensus in the literature on what precisely globalisation actually is (Saker et al. 2004). Reviews of existing literature has identified some of the key defining features of globalisation. Globalisation can be defined as a set of processes that are: “changing the nature of human interaction across a wide range of spheres including the economic, political, social and technological environment. The process of change

Globalisation is a phenomenon that has been increasingly used in the lexicon since the latter half of the 1980’s, achieving widespread and common currency amongst politicians, political analysts, academics, economists, the media, business, trade and finance. The term has become synonymous with the “global village” concept, where nations and states are drawn closer together; where economic, political and cultural spheres extend across the world’s major regions and continents. A world where development in one part of the globe will impact life in another part of the globe.

The United Nations states that globalisation “is a widely-used term that can be defined in a number of different ways. When used in an economic context, it refers to the reduction and removal of barriers between national borders in order to facilitate the flow of goods, capital, services and labour… although considerable barriers remain to the flow of labour… Globalisation is not a new phenomenon. It began in the late nineteenth century, but its spread slowed during the period from the start of the First World War until the third quarter of the twentieth century. This slowdown can be attributed to the inward looking policies pursued by a number of countries in order to protect their respective industries… however, the pace of globalisation picked up rapidly during the fourth quarter of the twentieth century” Globalization has expanded quickly in the course of recent years; the primary helping variables are regularly highlighted as:

The theory of globalization today is a field of intensive debate as the efforts towards defining globalization most often highlight its individual aspects. According to Held and McGrew (1999), “globalisation is an idea whose time has come, yet it lacks precise definition”. Despite the ambiguity of the term “globalisation,” the use of the term, according to Held and McGrew, reflects increased interconnectedness in political, economic and cultural matters across the world creating a shared social space. Given this inter-connectedness, globalisation may be defined as: “a process which embodies a transformation in the spatial organisation of social relations and

And with the increasing global environmental issues that arise with the globalization, people are now increasingly aware of the effects of the continuous industrialization.

Grossman and Wong as elaborated on the fact that globalization will lead to new resources which “allows a country to capitalize on resources that would otherwise not be valuable… [and] as a results countries can grow their economies… in ways that were not possible before” (2014). Grossman, Wong, and many others who advocate

Globalisation can be defined as the movement toward economic, financial, trade, and communications integration by countries and their populations globally. It is a constant process and it has resulted in the intertwining and generalisation of the needs and wants of people

An important trend occurring in the world economy is the process of globalization. Globalization is the progressive integration between national economies and the breaking down of barriers between trade and financial flows around the world, which will eventually lead to the emergence of a single world market. Globalization has affected many different nations in different ways, depending on their degree of development and extent to which they are open to the flows of the world economy. China, which is one of the developing countries, is said to be the next economic super power. Many guru economists such as Lawrence Summers predict that in the opening decades of the 21st century, china will match the US and Japanese economies. China

There is a widespread belief that the world at the beginning of the twenty-first century is changing more rapidly and dramatically than ever before. Generally, many of those changes are also believed to be connected with something called “globalisation”. Globalisation, as David Held(2002) pointed out, is defined as “a shift or transformation in the scale of human

Globalization has assisted in improving the use of resources and saving the environment by promoting

Throughout time individuals in different parts of the world have been able to take part in the spread of both goods and services which has also given rise to the growth of many developing countries. One important process that can describe both these aspects is the process of globalization which is a worldwide phenomenon. Globalization can be referred to as a process that “links all the economies through trade in goods and services and foreign direct investment (FDI). “ (Shahbaz et al., 2015). Although globalization is thought to have many positive aspects because it assists in providing economic growth and value to a country there are also a variety of concerns. Globalization has the power to result in environmental consequences because of the need to continuously increase production. Thus, globalization has changed “the relationship between the community, the state and the economy” and also the relationship between the environment (Shiva, 2015, p. 2). As Shiva (2015) mentions “Globalization is restructuring the control over resources in such a way that the natural resources of the poor are systematically taken over by the rich and the pollution of the rich is systematically dumped on the poor “(p. 3). Therefore, developed countries take advantage of the globalization process by offsetting negative environmental effects to developing countries. For the purpose of this paper, the country of India will be used as a case study to demonstrate how globalization causes various