Defining of Globalization

What is globalization? You have probably heard the word before since it is so commonly used in the
media. It has become a buzzword used to denote both good and bad things. For some, globalization
is synonymous with the spread of free market capitalism. For others, it is the source of economic
domination and oppression of poor nations by rich ones. What both advocates and adversaries of
globalization share is a focus on economic aspects.

For sociologists, this focus on economics is too narrow. Globalization has economic, political, social,
cultural and ideological aspects that we will outline below.

But first, how do we define globalization? Below are the definitions coined by the major
globalization theorists and summarized by Manfred Steger (2003).

Definitions of Globalization

“Globalization as deterritorialization or (…) the growth of ‘supraterritorial’

relations between people. (…) Globalization refers to a far-reaching change in
the nature of social space” (Scholte, 2000: 46).

“All those processes by which the peoples of the world are incorporated into a
single society, global society” (Albrow, 1990: 9).

“Globalization as a concept refers both to the compression of the world and the
intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole… both concrete global
interdependence and consciousness of the global whole” (Robertson, 1992:8).

“Globalization can thus be defined as the intensification of worldwide social

relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are
shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa” (Giddens, 1990:
64).

“Globalization is a social process in which the constraints of geography on

economic, political, social and cultural arrangements recede, in which people
become increasingly aware that they are receding and in which people act
accordingly” (Waters, 2001: 5).

“Globalization can be thought of a process (or set of processes) which embodies

a transformation in the spatial organization of social relations and transactions –
assessed in terms of their extensity, intensity, velocity and impact – generating
transcontinental or interregional flows and networks of activity, interaction, and
the exercise of power” (Held et al, 1999: 16).

Taken together, these definitions give us a good summary of the major characteristics of
globalization.

 Globalization is a set of processes of social change.

A process can be defined simply as a series of developing changes. In this sense, globalization is the
process of becoming global, but not yet complete. In other words, there is so far no globality, that is,
the condition of being global. There is no global society. There are, however, processes that point in
that direction. These processes are multiple and cover most areas of social life and human relations
such as economy, polity, culture, ideology, religion. Since globalization is a work-in-progress, the end
result – what a global society would look like – is yet undetermined. What is obvious though, is that
globalization involves changes in conceptions of space as part social relations.

 One of such processes central to globalization is deterritorialization.

This convoluted concept simply conveys the idea that, under conditions of globalization, territory
becomes less relevant to human relations. For instance, thanks to information technology, anyone in
the United States equipped with a computer and an internet connection can play the stock market in
Tokyo, chat online with friends in Canada, upload or download all sorts of information and data from
any place in the world from other individuals similarly equipped, as well as watch Al Jazeera (a
television network from Qatar, in the Arabic peninsula) via satellite. Territories and borders have
become irrelevant to such interactions that are therefore global in nature.

The process of deterritorialization is what makes globalization different from any other processes of
social change in human history. David Harvey (1990) described this process as time-space
compression. When one America individual exchanges instant messages with someone in another
country, this instantaneous interaction erases distance and occurs as if these two individuals were in
the same place, a virtual space. Time and space have therefore been compressed through the
technological creation of a virtual space of interaction unaffected by distance. The real physical
distance between these two individuals is covered, literally, in no time.

Practically every phenomenon that we can think of has acquired such supraterritorial (above space)
qualities: electronic communications, environmental degradation, terrorism, religious
fundamentalism, financial flows, health threats, etc. All these areas of human life are being
globalized insofar as they are no longer attached to specific territories but develop and affect us at a
transnational level. The process of globalization, as deterritorialization, turns the world into a single
space.

 Globalization involves a process of stretching or extension of human activities, relations

and networks across the globe

Events taking place in one part of the world have an impact for other people in distant locations, a
process akin to the butterfly effect. For instance, the Al Qaeda terrorist network has no known
central headquarter located in a specific territory but is a global network that has conducted
terrorist activities in many different countries. Less devastating is the extension of economic
activities and financial transactions on a worldwide scale (Steger, 2003).

 Globalization involves a process of intensification of human activities and relations

Intensification refers to the sheer magnitude of existing global relations. More and more aspects of
our lives are tied, in one form or another, to locations and peoples in other parts of the world. Most
of our consumer goods were manufactured and assembled in different places. We are also more
intensively connected to the whole world through a growing number of treaties and agreements
that cover practically every area of social relations, from human rights to environmental statutes to
the production and sale of weapons of mass destruction. In a sense, we are all embedded in an
increasingly dense global network of global regulations.

 Globalization involves a process of speeding up, or increasing velocity, of human activities

and relations

Developments in technologies of transportation and communication have accelerated the speed of

social interactions as well as the diffusion of material goods and ideas, money and people.

 Globalization involves specific impacts on different societies

This refers to the way globalization constrains choices that can be made by governments,
corporations, households or individuals. For instance, a government might hesitate to impose an
increase in minimum wage if it is faced with the relocation of jobs in areas where labor costs are
cheaper. Impact also refers to the way the effects of globalization are felt differently by different
categories of people. If Ford decides to close a plant in Michigan and open one in Mexico, American
workers, shareholders and Mexican workers will all experience different effects, which leads us to
the next characteristic of globalization.

 Globalization produces winners and losers

Globalization produces new patterns of inequalities. Some categories of people benefit from it, but
others are hurt. In this sense, globalization involvesinterconnectedness, more than
interdependence. Interdependence conveys a sense of equality (I depend on you, you depend on
me). In the case of contemporary globalization, there is no such equality. Global relations are
asymmetrical. Certain parties are dominant (Western countries, multinational corporations), others
are subordinate (indigenous populations, women). As a result, globalization has become a heavily
contested process, with its supporters and adversaries. Different groups and organizations try to
influence governments and corporations as well as other powerful institutions to shape globalization
according to their conception and values. As a result, global ideologies have emerged to provide
intellectual underpinnings to such social movements. Two major such ideologies – globalism and
alter-globalism – are developed below.

 Globalization involves a process of reflexivity, that is, the growing awareness of living in a
single global space

People are more and more aware that many phenomena that affect our lives have global
ramifications. For instance, most of us are aware of the dangers of global climate change or the
depletion of the ozone layer. Such environmental consciousness is global by definition because it
involves the realization that we are all interconnected on “spaceship Earth” and have no other place
to go. In other words, people of the world, irrespective of their differences, share a community of
fate.

As a result, more and more people realize that “we’re all in this together” and that the promotion of
narrow self-interest (such as the enormous consumption of natural resources by Western countries)
is ultimately putting the entire planet at risk. In other words, to be globally reflexive means to
integrate global elements into one’s identity and sense of self and to act upon such elements (for
instance, through recycling or giving money to global charities, or by demonstrating against
sweatshops in Bangladesh).
 Globalization Theorem

The idea of globalization as deterritorialization may seem contradictory at first. After all, we know
there are factory workers in China making our running shoes, or call center workers in India trying to
sell us long-distance plans, or people in the Darfur region in Sudan being exterminated as you read
this. These people are located in specific places. Their circumstances are different from ours
precisely because of the difference in location. In this sense, geography and territory still matter.
Doesn’t this all contradict the very idea of globalization?

According to Malcolm Waters (2001), there are three types of human exchanges that can be more
easily globalized, that is, deterritorialized:

 Material exchanges refer to any interaction involving the transmission of material items,
such as factory work, trade in goods, tenancy. Material exchanges tend to be localized in
spaces. Raw materials – agricultural goods, petroleum – are extracted from specific
locations. Factories are located where labor is available and cheap. Manufactured goods are
transported to western markets for sale and consumption.

 Power exchanges refer to the exercise of leadership through coercion or legislation, for
instance. By definition, the exercise of power applies to territories but also to international
relations, that is, relations between nation-states, such as war, diplomacy or alliances.
Power exchanges therefore extend internationally across territories.

 Symbolic exchanges refer to any form of communication, exchange of information or data.

This includes the mass media, the entertainment industry, advertisement and propaganda,
etc. Symbolic exchanges involve the transmission of signs and symbols. Because technology
makes it possible to disseminate symbols rapidly and widely, symbolic exchanges can be
easily detached from territories and therefore, globalized.

Based on these forms of exchange, Waters proposes a globalization theorem (a proposition that can
be demonstrated as true):

“Material exchanges localize; political exchanges internationalize; and symbolic exchanges globalize”
(Waters, 2001: 20).
Accordingly, globalization will be more advance in a post-industrial context than in an agricultural
society since the former is mostly based on symbolic exchanges whereas the latter is based on
material exchanges. This is why globalization is an uneven and unequal process: post-industrial
societies are more advanced and overall benefit more from globalization while remaining pastoral /
horticultural and agricultural societies figure among the losing parties. This theorem also explains
why full-blown globalization could only emerge at the historical juncture of the post-industrial age,
where symbolic exchanges predominate.