Chapter 10: A New Retreat? Another Decade of Disruption
● Two obvious but clashing points about globalization by the 21st century: whatever
the decision about when globalization began, aspects of the process go well back in
time, and each major level has seen further intensification, from trade levels to
technology to potential cultural contact. But at the same time: globalization is not
inevitable, regional responses can change, patterns can be disrupted and even
reversed.
● Second decade of the new century: tensions around globalization are raised to new
levels.
More of the Same
● Many features of globalization continued to operate strongly in the early 21st century.
Many indices reflected an ongoing globalization trend: flows of trade, capital,
information and people all continued to rise.
● Several developments offered particularly striking evidence of globalization’s
continued advance, Netflix is an example, operating in 190 countries. Netflix became
a leading example of a true multinational, with creative activities in all sorts of
countries and sales around the world. The success also showed the power of cultural
globalization in a period when some other evidence suggested new kinds of
intolerance.
● Facebook and other social media became global sensations.
● This new facet of globalization brought both opportunities and problems in its wake.
Namely, social media also allowed private and government operatives to set up fake
accounts, distributing misinformation that played a major role in internal politics and
conflicts; fake news. This was new, and authorities struggled to develop effective
countermeasures.
● Social media also played a major role in global terrorism. Terrorist groups
like ISIS used social media to indoctrinate partners in many countries. The
same kinds of social media links began to support white nationalist activity
after 2015 → acts of violence. Both of these sources of violence were
directed against globalization, but actively utilized the facilities globalization
had created.
● Massive project in China, 2013: Belt and Road initiative, designed to promote new
links between the Chinese economy and a number of other regions. It focused on
massive infrastructure investments to create new rails and roads from China
outward. It was a genuine extension of global links that brought regions like Mongolia
and Central Asia into the globalization process more fully than ever before. It also
testified to the obvious fact that China had become a major global player. And it
suggested a new form of economic colonialism, involving countries whose debts
might place them effectively under Chinese control. Some countries pulled back from
the project because of this.
A New Globalization Crisis?
- Several developments also created new barriers or potential barriers to
globalization’s advance. → questions about a possible retreat from global
engagement are raised.
- An example of this is the global recession that began in the US in 2007-8.
It centered initially on overexpansion of bank investments, particularly in
shaky real estate assets. → Several American financial firms collapsed.
This collapse → world trade levels were quickly reduced → massive
unemployment and wage reductions in many Western countries.
● Two obvious but clashing points about globalization by the 21st century: whatever
the decision about when globalization began, aspects of the process go well back in
time, and each major level has seen further intensification, from trade levels to
technology to potential cultural contact. But at the same time: globalization is not
inevitable, regional responses can change, patterns can be disrupted and even
reversed.
● Second decade of the new century: tensions around globalization are raised to new
levels.
More of the Same
● Many features of globalization continued to operate strongly in the early 21st century.
Many indices reflected an ongoing globalization trend: flows of trade, capital,
information and people all continued to rise.
● Several developments offered particularly striking evidence of globalization’s
continued advance, Netflix is an example, operating in 190 countries. Netflix became
a leading example of a true multinational, with creative activities in all sorts of
countries and sales around the world. The success also showed the power of cultural
globalization in a period when some other evidence suggested new kinds of
intolerance.
● Facebook and other social media became global sensations.
● This new facet of globalization brought both opportunities and problems in its wake.
Namely, social media also allowed private and government operatives to set up fake
accounts, distributing misinformation that played a major role in internal politics and
conflicts; fake news. This was new, and authorities struggled to develop effective
countermeasures.
● Social media also played a major role in global terrorism. Terrorist groups
like ISIS used social media to indoctrinate partners in many countries. The
same kinds of social media links began to support white nationalist activity
after 2015 → acts of violence. Both of these sources of violence were
directed against globalization, but actively utilized the facilities globalization
had created.
● Massive project in China, 2013: Belt and Road initiative, designed to promote new
links between the Chinese economy and a number of other regions. It focused on
massive infrastructure investments to create new rails and roads from China
outward. It was a genuine extension of global links that brought regions like Mongolia
and Central Asia into the globalization process more fully than ever before. It also
testified to the obvious fact that China had become a major global player. And it
suggested a new form of economic colonialism, involving countries whose debts
might place them effectively under Chinese control. Some countries pulled back from
the project because of this.
A New Globalization Crisis?
- Several developments also created new barriers or potential barriers to
globalization’s advance. → questions about a possible retreat from global
engagement are raised.
- An example of this is the global recession that began in the US in 2007-8.
It centered initially on overexpansion of bank investments, particularly in
shaky real estate assets. → Several American financial firms collapsed.
This collapse → world trade levels were quickly reduced → massive
unemployment and wage reductions in many Western countries.
