GLOBALISATION

AN INTRODUCTION
There is no agreed single understanding of the concept. Waters definition: 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. Robertsons definition: Globalization as a concept that refers both to the compression of the world and the intensification of the consciousness of the world as a whole both concrete global interdependence and consciousness of the global whole.

DEFINING GLOBALISATION
McLuhans concept of globalization: The new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village. Time has ceased space has vanished. We now live in a global villagea simultaneous happening. Today, electronics and automaton make mandatory that everybody adjust to the vast global environment as if it were his little home town. The electronic age has sealed the entire human family into a single global tribe. We can now live pluralistically in many worlds and cultures simultaneously. We are no more committed to one culture to a single ratio among the human senses any more than to one book or to one language or to one technology.

KEY DEBATE: IS GLOBALISATION NEW AND REAL?

There is no agreement among sociologists is globalization represents a new stage in the development of human societies or the acceleration of earlier trends or little change at all. Five different answers to this answer: A. The borderless world B. The information age C. The radicalization of modernity D. Globalization in question E. The limits of global politics

A. THE BORDERLESS WORLD

Kenichi Ohmae argues that we now live in a borderless world, where flows of information and economic activity increasingly occur across the borders of nation states, and nation states are increasingly powerless to control such flows. The growth of such economic activity on a global scale is, in part, caused by the increased flow of information across state borders. Ohmae describes the global availability of information as perhaps the most important fact about the contemporary world. Knowledge of consumption patterns, lifestyles and aspirations in other countries is fuelling a convergence of ideas and tastes. This, in turn, drives demand for the same brand of consumer goods, particularly among the young. Consumers all over the world now have access to low-cost, high-quality products from overseas.

 This globalisation of markets is evident, for example, in the worldwide availability of branded goods such as Nike trainers and Levi-Strauss jeans. Moreover, global capital markets mean that savings and profits from one country can be invested in other countries through stock exchanges or used to speculate on currency markets. In the face of such pressures, the modern nation state is powerless to control its economy. The power of the nation state to generate wealth used to depend on its military strength and its capacity to control natural resources, for example, by conquering territory to gain access to coal and oil. Now, the preservation of military strength is too costly and natural resources are no longer critical to economic growth. Nation states are dependent instead on foreign capital to invest in their economies. However, any attempt to influence the working of the domestic economy by raising taxes or controlling exchange rates, for example, will be punished by global capital markets. That is to say, if governments do anything more than guarantee that their markets are open for business, foreign investors will go elsewhere. All that states can do is to act as ports of entry to the global economy. This is exemplified by the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM). This was a system introduced by the European Community in 1979 to limit the fluctuations in exchange rates between the currencies of Western Europe. The UK entered the ERM in 1990 but was forced to exit the programme in 1992 after its currency came under pressure from speculators, including George Soros. The UK government raised interest and spent billions of pounds trying to keep the currency at its target level but still could not resist the power of speculators. Also, the power of national governments decline since they can no longer control the economy, and are often overshadowed by international organizations (such as World Bank, UN, and G8). Many 3rd world
countries need money, and they thus forced to borrow from international organizations e.g. World Bank, resulting in them being debt-ridden and continuing to be in poverty a vicious cycle.

Also, as citizens realize the loss of power of their governments, they lose faith in the system. Ohmae also argued that the global flow of information is eating away the boundaries of between states. The broader term deteritorialization is used to describe the decline of distinct territories and of social organizations based on bounded units, from the nation states to the local community. It is argued that instead of being members of distinct units, people are linked by networks that spread across all boundaries. Proponents also advocated that countries will benefit from free trade and open competition (such as international organizations forcing others to comply with them through reduced tariffs). A common culture and the way of life (e.g. Macdonalds) as being commercially defined and driven by capitalism. An optimistic vision of future capitalist trade would bring prosperity through peaceful exchange, rule of law, liberal democracy.

B. THE INFORMATION AGE

New information and communications technologies (ICTs) are central to our economy and society. Castells claims that these ICTs provide the basis for a truly global economy. More fundamentally, they signal the emergence if a new way in which economic growth is generated; an informational mode of development that is dependent on networks. Under the informational mode of development, ICTs are central to the way we work. The new mode of development is most evident in the functioning of the global economy. What defines the contemporary economy as global is, for Castells, the fact that it is an economy with the capacity to work as a unit in real time, or chosen time, on a planetary scale. This can be seen in the financial markets. Facilitated by the new ICTs, capital can be managed on financial markets around the clock. Savings and investments in banks, pension funds, stock exchanges and currency exchanges can be traded 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This has dramatically increased global financial flows.

C. THE RADICALISM OF MODERNITY

Anthony Giddens, by contrast, stresses the continuities between globalisation and modernisation. In fact, he argues that modernisation is inherently globalising. He claims that modern institutions tend to disembed actions from the local, face-to-face contexts and link them to faraway places. Giddens calls this process time space distanciation. What happens to an individual is shaped by events many miles away. Globalization is the radicalizing and universalizing of this process. He defines globalization as having four main dimensions: 1. The nation-state system. Nation-states are the principal actors within the global political order. Almost the entire world is subject to sovereignty of one state or another. In contrast to the pre-modern period, nation states claim ultimate authority within their territories and recognise the legitimate authority of other nation states. 2. The world military control. The spread of advanced weaponry to developing countries and the formation of military alliances have given military conflict a worldwide dimension. Local conflicts are liable to become global in scope consider the Second World War. In the nuclear age, powerful states become involved in wars beyond their borders, as was the case in many Cold War conflicts. 3. The international division of labour. The period since 1945 has witnessed a major expansion of the global division of labour. With the diffusion of technologies and emergence in particular that of the newly industrialised countries (NICs), such as Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea, the production of goods and services are increasingly global in scope. These countries experienced rapid industrialization between the 1960s and 1990s based on exports of manufactured goods to the fully industrialized countries. This strategy depended on a high savings rate and investment in education to create a skilled workforce. These countries are no longer regarded as NICs s they are now among the wealthiest in the world. 4. The world capitalist economy. Corporations are the dominant agents within the world economy. In their pursuit of profit, corporations trade with each other, with states and with consumers. This extends commodity markets across state borders. States foster such transnational activity because they depend on industrial production to expand their own revenues. This is evidenced in transnational corporations (TNCs). TNCs organize production of goods and services in more than one country. Their operations account for the majority of foreign direct investments (FDI) in production facilities in multiple economies. FDI stocks have risen from an estimated US$700 billion in 1980 to over U$15 trillion in 2007. The number of TNCs rose from 7000 in 1970 to 3700 in 1993, including Wal-Mart, ExxonMobil, General Motors, Unilever and Microsoft.

D. GLOBALIZATION IN QUESTION
Skeptics like Hirst and Thompson (1999) who worked on Globalization In Question sees globalized economy as a myth. In their view, those who claim that globalisation is mew and all-pervasive have failed to produce enough evidence to support their claims. They identified 2 types of globalization: Type 1: International economy characterized by migration, flow of trade and investment, and international division of labour. Type 2: Globalised economy economy regulated by interdependent autonomous supra-national system. This unlikely happens. First, they argue that proponents of globalisation lack a clear definition of what distinguishes a global from an international economy. Second, they are selective in the evidence of economic activity they use to support their claims. Thirdly, that their analyses lack historical depth. Hirst and Thompson claim that if we look at economic activity over the last 150 years, we can see that The present highly internationalized economy is not unprecedented.

In some respects, the international economy is less open and integrated than in the period 1870-1914, due to the growth of tariffs, quantitative restrictions, exchange controls and then war. They also stress the control of states and argue that TNCs still have national headquarters and national culture. Genuinely transnational companies are rare. Most companies that trade overseas are based in one country where their assets are based, where production is carried out and where most of their sales are made. Foreign Direct Investment is highly concentrated among advanced industrial economies: trade, investment and financial flows are concentrated in Europe, Japan and North America. Global markets are not beyond regulation and control. The major economic powers of Europe, Japan and North America have the capacity, especially if they coordinate their efforts, to control financial markets, global trade, and so on. So a global economy has yet to emerge, according to Hirst and Thompson. If that is the case, they argue, then propositions about the globalisation of politics and culture cannot be sustained: the emergence of global politics and a global culture depend on the emergence of a globalised economy. There are still areas of the world that have a different system, such as North Korea or Cuba, and other countries not able to join the world economy for different reasons (e.g. political reasons/ economic sanctions).

E. THE LIMIT OF GLOBAL POLITICS

Hoffman (2002) is skeptical of the idea that we are entering a new era. Hoffman examines globalised politics and finds little evidence that globalisation has radically altered the role of the state in international affairs. He points to the persistence of rivalries between powerful states, to an increase in civil wars (which frequently lead to intervention by neighbouring states), and he argues that domestic pressures, like grievances over trade relationships and solidarities with ethnic groups overseas, often force states to act in spite of external constraints. Hoffman suggests that are 3 features of contemporary politics that underlie the continuation of national states. 1. Institutions of global governance (institutions designed to regulate global or regional problems in the absence of an overarching political authority) remain weak. Problems include environmental damage, drug smuggling, money laundering, the management of trade and technology. The institutions created to deal with these problem include formal organisations or treaties, such as the UN, WTO or the Chemical Weapons Convention, as well as informal mechanisms such as coalitions of businesses and NGOs. The powers of the United Nations are limited. International criminal justice, pursued through the International Criminal Court, for example, is highly circumscribed. Environmental agreements at the global level are minimal in scope. Foreign investment is often governed through bilateral trade agreements. 1. Strong national identities have emerged. 2. War or the threat of war is still a feature of the contemporary world.

KEY DEBATE: WHAT ARE THE DRIVERS OF GLOBALIZATION? WORLD-SYSTEM THEORY

World-System Theory focuses on the new international division of labor(NIDL) Countries or areas of the world are becoming specialized rather than people being so. For example, Germany might specialize in design, Indonesia in manufacturing and the USA in marketing. Major criticisms of the World-Systems Theory: Critics claim that it actually uses countries as its unit of analysis and collects data on a country basis. The explanation is exclusively economic. The scheme it offers is too simplistic to deal with the complexities brought by the rapid globalization since the 1970s. It is difficult to see what point a country moves between the areas. The criteria for categorizing countries cannot be precise and is open to interpretation.(no clear-cut criteria)

THE INFORMATIONAL MODE OF DEVELOPMENT

For Castells, technology is the most important factor that underpins globalisation The new ICTs are inherently globalizing. The new ICTs have brought along a highly integrated, highly flexible system of connections along with money, images, information, etc. flow. These networks become increasingly global in scope as people and organizations around the world are obliged to join. But this trend is limited to the most powerful in society.

U.S. HEGEMONY
Ikenberry(2007) claims that USA has played an important role since 1945 in establishing and sustaining an open world economy. The USA has been decisive in promoting greater international economic integration through its military alliance and its support for multilateral institution such as the International Monetary Fund. By establishing open markets after the Second World War, the USA sought o advance its global political hegemony (dominance). With the end of the cold war, the USAs influence has waned. However, by establishing the foundations of a globalised economy, other states as well as firms and individuals now have interests in preserving interdependence, a stable and open economy.

GLOBAL SCAPES
Appadurai (1996) offers a theory of five types of cultural flows. These flows of culture take place over what Appadurai refers to as global scapes. The point of this is that together the 5 make up a framework within which we can analyze the different moments of culture. These are as follows: 1. Ethnoscapes: flows of people 2. Mediascapes: flows of images 3. Technoscapes: flow of machinery 4. Finanscapes: flow of money 5. Ideascapes: flow of ideas

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF SOCIOLOGY?

Global integrations of economy, politics and culture not only signal a change to the scale of our interactions, they also suggest some fundamental alterations to the nature of those interactions. Castells and Beck discuss about the transformations we are living through.

THE NETWORK SOCIETY

A network, as defined by Castells, is a set of interconnected nodes (1996, p. 470). These nodes can be people, businesses, cities or states and so on. Along them flow information, communications and money, as well as people and goods. The material basis for this network society is the information revolution which gave birth to the new ICTs. Networks increasingly displaced hierarchically organized bureaucracies as the dominant mode of organization. They are the basis for the operation of the global economy. Networks increasingly form the structure of economic, political and cultural life. But they also change our subjective experience of the world. Castells claims that our sense of space and time are transformed.

RISK SOCIETY

 Beck claims that what distinguishes contemporary society is the emergence of a set of potentially devastating man-made risk. In the risk society (1992), we face the possibility of economical disasters, nuclear war and international economic breakdown. These new problems cannot be dealt with by purely technical solutions. They cannot be dealt with as solution. They cannot be dealt with as scientific issues. Instead, they must be dealt with as moral issues. The result is a transformation in popular attitudes to expertise accompanied by the spread of knowledge. Expert knowledge cannot provide authoritative means of eliminating or reducing these new risks as what counts as risky is a matter of popular belief. The monopoly on claims to the truth by a scientific elite is brought to an end.

THE FUTURE OF GLOBALIZATION

Continued global integration faces two major threats. The first is the attacks against the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001. Held and McGrew(2007) suggest that since 9/11 there are signs that the globalisation of economies and politics has been reversed. There has been a shift from cooperation and the use of diplomacy between states to unilateralism and the use of force. The second, potentially greater, threat is the recent global economic crisis. Wolf(2008) claims that this predominantly financial crisis poses serious challenges to the future of globalization. It will reduce the willingness of governments to liberalize financial markets, restricting the global flows of capital that have been central to economic integration. It will undermine the credibility of free-market capitalism, openness to trade and direct investment. Finally it will worsen the performance of the global economy, raising unemployment and depressing incomes.

THE DIMENSIONS OF GLOBALIZATION

The academic debate that has surrounded globalization has so far concerned its nature and its effects, not its future. We will examine important controversies along three dimensions of globalisation- the economic, the political and the cultural.

ECONOMIC GLOBALISATION
GLOBALISATION: WHAT HAS CHANGED?
Processes of globalisation do not happen evenly and at the same time around the world, and so people do experience it in different ways. It is important to keep a global perspective and consider people not just in one country or part of the world. Many argue that globalisation represents one of the most important and rapid changes in human social life, and it is one that we are currently witnessing.

THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

The economy is central to how we understand globalisation. Economic globalisation or capitalist globalisation (the dominant economic system) is more precisely what people usually mean when they use the term globalisation. It is important to understand the difference. Globalisation is a term which can encompass all the different dimensions and processes of globalisation, cultural, economic, political, technological, and so on because it is a complex concept and relates to the whole global system. However, economic globalisation is particularly focused on the economic dimension. The first key question in studying economic globalisation is: does a global economy exist?

CHARACTERISTICS OF GLOBAL ECONOMY

Waters identifies characteristics of global economy in terms of: world trade (from imperialistic nature of mid to end 19 century, dominated by the Great Britain; to one dominated by the US) international division of labour (colonialism and imperialism started off international division of labour, capital intensive, value added production in the imperial nations, labour intensive, low value added production in the periphery)
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KEY DEBATE: TO WHAT EXTENT HAVE WE SEEN THE EMERGENCE OF A GLOBAL ECONOMY?
Not all academics accept that we live in a globalised world. There has been a great debate about whether we have seen the emergence of a truly global economy.

A GLOBAL ECONOMY IN REAL

Castells claims that over the last 30 years a new, global economy has emerged. What distinguishes a global economy from an international or world economy is its capacity to operate in real time. Economies around the world are dependent on a set of core features that are global in scale. This core consists of financial markets, international trade and transnational production. Castells believes that information technology has played an important role in this development. Castells argues that policies enacted by governments and international institutions also played a crucial part.

TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND GLOBAL CAPITALISM

Although Sklair (2002) acknowledges the importance of nation-states, he emphasises more on global capitalist system. Sees transnational practices as the key to understanding how global capitalist system works. The spheres which make up this global system are:

The economic: the main institution is the transnational corporation (TNC). The political: the main unit is the transnational capitalist class (TCC). The TCC concept refers to a group of people from around the globe who share an interest in the progress and success of the global capitalist project. Four types of people belong to the TCC executives of TNCs, globalising bureaucrats and politicians who want to promote globalisation for reasons apart from the development of their own country, globalising professionals, such as academics who work to promote this type of globalisation and merchants and the media. The cultural: the most important factor being consumerism and its ideology.

INTERNATIONALISATION NOT GLOBALISATION

Hirst and Thompson (1999) argue that international links happened long ago e.g. political and economic links in the colonial time. Globalisation of today simply represent the intensification of interaction between nations. They believe that there is an international economy characterised by flow of trade, investment and international division of labour. International economy is regulated and coordinated by the government. However, they do not believe that a single integrated economy has taken place. Trade is still constrained within 3 regional blocs: Europe, Asia-Pacific, and North America. Globalisation is not seen as a new phenomenon but either a continuation of existing practices, or not actually existing at all as a global phenomena, as whole vast areas of the world have not been affected (Wade, 1996). The state is therefore still seen as the dominant force. So globalisation as conceived by the more extreme globalisation theorists, is largely a myth.

REGIONAL INTEGRATION
Colin Hay (2000) examines both trends in economic processes and economic institutions. Hay claims that far from a convergence towards a single model of economic growth, economic integration exists at the regional level. Hay acknowledges that international trade and capital mobility have increased significantly in recent years. Nevertheless, this does not imply that firms and states operate in a single global economy. Hay looks at two cases of greater integration: Liberalisation within East Asia in recent years has been the consequence of political not economic pressures. In Europe, The European Union has driven integration among member states.

WHY AND HOW DO FIRMS TRANSNATIONALISE?

Dicken (2007) looks at what drives companies to expand their operations into other countries, and how they do so. He also considers how the results of going transnational are more complicated than we might expect. There are 2 reasons for companies to expand their operations into other countries. Market-oriented investment is driven by the search for overseas markets. Asset-oriented investment is driven by the need for resources that are located in specific countries or regions.

 Despite common incentives to operate across state borders, Dicken argues that there remain distinct differences between TNCs. He suggests that national factors prevent convergence towards a single organisational form. The cultural, social, political and economic characteristics of a companys nation influence its form and strategy.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Hirst and Thompson (1999) do not observe a clear trend towards a single TNC model of business organisation. They suggest that international firms predate the era of globalisation and rarely resemble the ideal-type transnational corporation. Hirst and Thompson deny that international businesses are a phenomenon of post-Second World War world. Rather than draw a simple distinction between the TNC and national or local firms, Hirst and Thompson claim there are different kinds of international firm. Multinational corporations (MNCs): firms that have most of their functions located in their country of origin but maintain a strong local presence in several countries through which trade is conducted. Transnational corporations (TNCs): the distinctive feature of TNCs is the geographic dispersal of their activities to specialised units.

The most common kind of international firm is the multinational and not the transnational corporation.

THE NETWORKED FIRM

Castells acknowledges that TNCs remain national in some respects. However, he claims that the major trend affecting all major corporations is the shift towards transnational production networks. These production networks frequently comprised of small- and medium-sized firms. These networks do not stand apart from TNCs. Networks of smaller business often enter into relationships with TNCS as reciprocal contractors. Moreover, TNCs themselves are increasingly organised along internal networks. One of the distinguishing features of these transnational production networks is their flexibility.

THE GLOBAL SPREAD OF MANAGEMENT STYLES

Networks may constitute material structure of new organisational forms. Clegg and Carter examines the global influence of the management ideas industry. They argue that IT companies, business schools and management experts have led to a degree of homogenisation in the management styles of firms around the world. Management styles offer a set of abstract templates for dealing with human resources, corporate governance, production methods and other business processes. For Clegg and Carter, there are 4 routes by which these templates have been disseminated: IT firms Management consultancy The MBA Management gurus

 Sklair (2000) has also pointed to the role of globalised management practices. In particular, executives and professionals of the transnational capitalist class use forms of benchmarking to measure the performance of corporations. Benchmarking is designed to provide systematic comparisons with best practice in other organisations.

RECAP
The existence of a truly global economy, and one in which business is organised on a transnational basis, is central to the claim that we have entered a new stage of social development. Hirst and Thompson are sceptical of such a claim; Castells believes we have a new economy and new age. New technologies underpin global financial markets and business models. Sklair argues that the expansionary dynamic of capitalism is behind globalisation. Hay puts greater emphasis on politics in the emergence of regional economies. Clegg and Carter identify the role of culture in the global convergence of business activity.

GLOBALISATION, POLITICS & THE STATE

KEY DEBATE: HAS GLOBALISATION WEAKENED THE STATE?
Nation state A nation state is a political unit that has national citizens, a national territory, and a national administration. This is a particularly important question for sociologists, partly because the discipline itself developed at a time when nation states were growing in power and strength, which means that sociology has focused on studying states. Also, the nation state has been the key to organised and structured society, and so if it is losing power or changing form, sociologists want to understand what this is being replaced with.

STATE AND MARKETS

Where does the balance of power lie between states and markets? Strange claims that worlds markets are now more powerful than individual nation states. Since Second World War, markets in commodities and capital have been globally integrated. States no longer have the power to shape the economy as in a globalised world economic growth is increasingly market-centred not state-centred. The advent of nuclear weapons changed the nature of warfare. Citizens and subjects no longer expect or want the state to prioritise military security. The state is expected to make economic growth its top priority. In a globally integrated economy, economic growth is dependent on exports and on technology, both of which depend on TNCs. To promote economic growth, governments are dependent on the private sector, especially TNCs for it is the private sector where exports are generated and capital is raised. These effects are not felt equally by all states. States are increasingly unable to maintain growth and employment to control interest rates and exchange rates.

LIBERAL INTERNATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY

Held looks at development in global politics and argues that state power has been reconfigured. We have seen a shift from a system of sovereign states to a regime of liberal international sovereignty. Under this regime, states are constrained by international norms and conventions concerning democracy and human rights. This regime developed through agreements and new institutions in a number of key areas: Rules of warfare and weaponry War crimes and the individual Human rights Democracy This new regime involves a reconfiguration of state power. The legitimacy of states no longer depends on their ability to maintain security but on their willingness to uphold these basic standards of human rights.

FOUR THREATS TO NATION STATES

Mann looks at 4 potential threats to nation state. He assesses the impact of changes in capitalism and military conflict and the rise of environmental and identity politics, but finds no clear trend. He concludes that states have been weakened by some of these developments and strengthened by others. There is considerable variation between countries. The state continues to play an important role in economic activity. Governments are essential to the stability of global capitalism. There is no clear diminution of state power in the area of military conflict. The experience of two world wars and the spread of nuclear weapons have reduced possibility of war between developed countries. Nevertheless, there are many potential sources of major conflict elsewhere in the world. New political concerns have had a complex relationship to the state. Environmentalism and identity politics (involves political action by those who believe they are oppressed because of their identity) have created transnational movements that transcend state borders. These transnational networks are not constrained by state borders, but they often reinforce state power by advocating international agreements (between nation states) and by demanding greater regulation or protection by individual states. For Mann, the patterns described are too varied and contradictory to argue that the nation state has been weakened (or strengthened) by globalisation.

STATES AND MARKETS REVISITED

For Weiss, states have a great deal more influence over economic policy than theorists like Strange allow. Globalisation enables as well as constrains economic governance. Integration with world markets has 3 effects that create incentives for state intervention. Exposure to international markets reduces job security as it entails greater competition for domestic firms. This heightened insecurity leads to popular demand for social protections.

Increased competition means that firms need to improve their products and production processes on a continual basis, as well as ensure an increased supply of skilled workers. International competition threatens to destabilise key sectors of the economy, most prominently, agriculture. States have devised new policies and forms of regulation to protect these sectors.

KEY DEBATE: HAS GLOBALISATION CREATED NEW FORMS OF POLITICS?

Political action is not limited to the state. In both domestic and international politics, there are other actors concerned with shaping public policy. These include non-governmental organisations, international organisations and social classes. How have these actors been shaped by globalisation?

POWER SHIFT
Matthews (1997) argues that there has been a redistribution of power away from the states. Mathews believes that governments increasingly share power with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international organisations. This redistribution has been driven by new ICTs. The principle cause of the decline of states and the rise of non-state actors in the information revolution. ICTs have ended governments monopoly on the collection and management of information. Wider access to information has increased the number of political actors with influence at the expense of state authority. The influence of NGOs is evident in the size of their resources, the impact on governments and their formal political roles. The finances and expertise of NGOs is greater than those of small states or international organisations. Major international organisations were, for the most part, established by states. But they have gained considerable autonomy from nation states. These organisations entail a professional constituency of scientists, lawyers, diplomats, NGOs and international civil servants, all of whom depend on the organisation in question. They have an interest in the expansion of soft law, that is, non-binding resolutions, guidelines, etc that shape the conduct of states.

THE TRANSNATIONAL CAPITALIST CLASS

What happens to the class structure of capitalism under globalisation? One development, for Sklair, is the formation of transnational capitalist class (TCC). This class steers the capitalist global economy, pursuing its interests through the regulation of trade, finance and so on. TCC consists of 4 groups that serve the interests of global capitalism: the executives of TNCs (corporate fraction) state and inter-state bureaucrats and politicians (state fraction) professionals (technical fraction) merchants and media (consumerist fraction) These fractions share more than elite positions within business, politics and the media. They are more cosmopolitan in origin; they come from all parts of the globe and they see themselves as such. They share a perspective that is global in scope, not one which is limited to their society of origin. This solidarity is reinforced by a common lifestyle. The TCC operates through distinctive political organisations. It does not operate through conventional organisations such as political parties.

THE NEW TRANSNATIONAL ACTIVISM

Tarrow claims that transnational political activism is shaped primarily by internationalism not globalisation. It is the growth of international organisations and intergovernmental linkages that provide new opportunities, resources and threats to protest movements. Transnational activism predates globalisation. The anti-slavery movement of the early nineteenth century, for examples, spread from England to France. What is new for todays protest movements is the growth of internationalism: growing international ties new international organisations, treaties, events and norms Political protest is shaped in multiple ways: Activists use global frames to discuss domestic issues by relating domestic concerns to international processes. Activists seek the internalisation of international pressures which involves targeting domestic institutions rather international organisations. Activism shapes the forms of protest, through diffusion and scale-shift. Protest tactics diffuse across countries. Growing international links between movements allow for new tactics to spread around the world.

POLITICAL CHANGE: NATION STATES, GLOBAL GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY

 Waters identifies 3 theoretical arguments about new global political actors: The emergence of a new world order constitute a highly differentiated but relatively consensual family of nations that keep things right. USA won cold war and dominate the world. The emergence of multi-polar world, constitute differentiated pattern of international relations with chaos and uncertainty. New political actors: Transnational corporations (TNCs): The globalising of the economy has caused a rapid increase in business organisations which are based in, trade and are owned in several countries. Sklair (2002) for example, argued that corporations have an immense impact on our lives and are, in many cases, more powerful and hold more wealth than many countries. TNCs are able to bargain with countries to gain tax-free conditions and can dictate policy to some governments. Regional governance: Good examples of this are European Union, and regional blocs like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). International institutions: The importance of international institutions has been growing in the last few decades, quite possibly because they have more of an influence on peoples lives and also as globalisation allows us to be more aware of this influence. Examples include the United Nations (UN), World Trade Organization (WTO) and World Bank. Global governance: Refers to a framework of rules necessary to tackle global problems. These rules are supported by individual governments, regional government and trading blocs like OPEC,APEC, NAFTA and international institutions such as the UN and WTO. Civil society

CIVIL SOCIETY
Civil society Broadly defined as the sphere of social life which is outside of the family, the market and the government, and within which people are working towards a purpose. For example, charities, international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), religious groups, environment conservation groups, international organisations, and campaigning coalitions. Members of global civil society work beyond their own country and are interconnected. Global civil society has been growing with globalisation, and has been helped by all the technology that has promoted globalisation. Best known INGOs are Greenpeace, WWF, Medicins Sans Frontieres, International Red Cross, and Amnesty International. The case of the World Social Forum A good example of the relationship between global civil society and global governance.

RECAP
Like the existence of a global economy, the power of the state and the rise of new forms of politics are key indicators of the extent to which we have entered a new, global era. Moreover, they have us to examine the causes of globalisation. The emerging international norms identified by Held and the diffusion of protest tactics described by Tarrow provide examples of Appadurais global scapes. Strange and Sklair point to the effects of capitalism. Weisss analysis suggests that political processes are critical while Matthews underlines the significance of technology.

CULTURAL GLOBALISATION
KEY DEBATE: HAS GLOBALISATION LED TO CULTURAL HOMOGENISATION?
Global trade and production have made Western goods available in non-Western societies. This is often taken as a sign of cultural homogenisation (the condition in which cultural practices around the world are increasingly alike). Is the presence of McDonalds, Starbucks and other global brands in every major city sufficient evidence of a worldwide convergence of lifestyles?

McWORLD
Barber (1996) believes that the spread of consumer goods, especially US branded goods, across the world threatens to lead us into a McWorld, a homogenised global culture modelled on popular US tastes. Barber argues that market integration and new technologies produce uniformity. The integration of national economies into the global market place has taken place alongside the development of ICTs that escape the control of nation states. These 2 trends have left national and local cultures exposed to new cultural influences conveyed through consumer goods. These goods are predominantly US in origin and they are marketed through globally recognised logos, advertising slogans, celebrities, etc. For consumers, they symbolise the adoption of a higher status lifestyle. According to Barber, that lifestyle and the brands that are central to it make for an increasingly homogenised and commodifed world culture.

THE CULTURE-IDEOLOGY OF CONSUMERISM

Sklair (2002) argues that globalisation is fundamentally capitalist in nature. The conditions of capitalist globalisation are ensured by the dominance of the transnational capitalist class. One of those conditions is the stimulation of consumer demand. To that end, the mass media promote a culture-ideology of consumerism across the globe. A culture-ideology of consumerism implies that global brands provide a set of meaning for consumers. For Sklair, key institutions in the promotion of consumerism include the soap opera and the shopping mall.

THE COMPLEXITY OF CULTURAL INFLUENCE

Hannerz (1992) rejects the idea that a Western consumer culture is being imposed on the rest of the world and that this picture is too simplistic. Hannerz acknowledges that cultural relations between rich and poor countries are asymmetric, i.e. that cultural influences tend to flow from the centre of the global economy to the peripheries. But he argues that the homogenisation thesis ignores the way people respond to Western cultural influences, and oversimplifies the processes of cultural transmission. Cultural influences is a highly complex and differentiated phenomenon. Some countries have more influence on specific cultural practices than others. Sometimes, culture flows from periphery to centre. When cultural practices do travel from the developed world to the developing world it is not necessarily through the mass media. Cities such as London, New York and Paris have large communities of expatriates from Africa, Asia and Latin America. These expatriates are one of the most important mechanisms by which the culture of Western metropolitan centres is transmitted to other continents. However, these influences are not uncritically adopted by the wider populations.

THE LIMITS TO GLOBAL CULTURE

Smith claims that most of us continue to identify with the nation and will continue to do so in the future. The potential for a global culture is weak as it has no history it can build upon. Globalisation itself may strengthen national cultures. As states are drawn into the global economy, they become modernised. This entails the adoption of a standardised language and a standardised educational system as well as greater internal migration. These developments threaten to dissolve minority ethnic groups. Under these developments, Smith claims that ethnic communities turn to nationalism to preserve their existence.

KEY DEBATE: DOES GLOBALISATION LEAD TO CLASH OF CULTURES?

The attacks by Al-Qaeda on 11 September 2001 reignited debate about the relationship between the Western and non-Western, particularly Islamic, worlds. Some commentators saw the attacks as evidence of a clash of civilisations. We will consider the potential for conflict among cultures, and its relationship to globalisation.

JIHAD
Barber (1996) claims that one reaction of the spread of McWorld has been the rise of jihad. Jihad refers to any variety of dogmatic and violent belief in the value of a single group. It is not exclusive to one religion. These jihadi (separatist) campaigns strongly reject the modern world. Instead they seek to preserve the tribal group through violent conflict. Such campaigns may begin from a desire to preserve local identity in the face of modernisation and consumer capitalism. Separatist movements seek to assert subnational identities through force. These forces of traditionalism cannot escape modernity. In the long run, McWorld is likely to win out. Western states are sufficiently powerful to assure political stability in most part of the world. Under this stability, trade will grow and Western consumer goods will find new markets.

CLASH OF CIVILISATIONS
Huntington (1993) argues that the major conflicts of the future will take the form of a clash of civilizations. It is conflicts between the cultural blocs that will dominate world politics. Major economic and social changes are increasing the salience of civilisational identity, particularly religious identity. The increased contact between people from different parts of the world due to technological and economic transformations has had the effect of raising our civilisational consciousness, i.e. making us more aware of the differences between and similarities within civilisations. At the same time, those transformations associated with globalisation, and modernisation in general, have weakened local and national identities. Religion, particularly fundamentalist forms of religion, has filled that gap. The growth of civilisational consciousness is unintentionally aided by the West. Western countries are at their most historically powerful relative to non-Western countries. The dominance of the West and its willingness to assert its power provokes a reaction from the non-West. The civilisations of Asia, Africa and the Middle East and Latin America are mobilising on the basis of their own cultures against Western supremacy. But why should cultural differences lead to violent conflict? Huntington claims that differences between civilisations are deep-seated. Cultural affiliations, particularly religious affiliations ,cannot be regulated. Conflicts between civilisations will occur on both a small and large scale. At the micro-level, groups living at the borders of civilisations will struggle for the control of territory. At the macro-level, states from different civilisations struggle for military and economic pre-eminence.

MULTIPLE IDENTITIES
Sen (2006) claims that the idea of a clash of civilisations exaggerates the homogeneity of individuals and of countries, and it overlooks the long and influential history of interactions between cultures. Sen notes that people belong to various groups. Multiple identities often cuts across religious groupings. To focus on only one identity is to ignore the bases of many other forms of collective action. The concept of civilisation ignores the diversity within societies. Countries often contain more than one religious community. Far from being self-contained communities, so-called civilisations have interacted with one another for hundreds of years.

TRANSLATION AND TRADITION

Hall (1992) suggests that one response to globalisation is the attempt to preserve traditional cultures. But that is only one reaction. In some instances, globalisation has given rise to new, hybrid cultural identities. These 2 trends refute both the idea that we are witnessing greater homogenisation and that a clash of civilisations is inevitable. One of the most important causes of cultural change is migration. This has significantly altered the ethnic mix of host countries and led to a pluralisation of national cultures. In some instances, this has led to a defensive attempt to reconstruct purified identities. This reaction has taken place among both the majority host population and among new migrants. By contrast, new cultural formations arise from the need of migrants for translation between society they have left and the one they now live in.

RECAP
Cultural homogenisation would provide evidence that globalisation is new and real. But so would hybridisation the strenghtening of national identities and a clash of civilisations. The question is whether there is something new about contemporary cultural transformations, or whether history has always witnessed such transformations. The key to answering that question may lie in identifying the causes of cultural change. The new technologies that underpin modern communications and the dynamics of capitalism that drive global trade are critical factors in spreading cultural practices. They help to create the forms of global consciousness. But politics need not passively follow these trends. Religious movements and nationalist politicians can attempt to preserve traditional ways of life by closing their societies to outside influences.

 Their chances of success depend in part on the capacity of the state to exercise its authority. In turn, that capacity depends in part on economic trends. The culture, politics and economics of globalisation are interlinked.