Globalization

Globalization is not a state, but a process and can be understood as a „form of ‚denationalization‘ that affects different areas such as communication, culture, environment, politics, and economy.“ (Starke/ Tosun 2019, 183)

„Globalization refers to worldwide interdependence, exchange, and dependency processes. Means of communication and transportation are particularly significant in this context for the world-spanning flows of financial capital, goods, technologies, people, and ideas. The fact that these interconnections and effects are felt and conscious worldwide in science and everyday life is – in contrast to earlier supralocal interactions – an essential feature of the current phase of globalization.“ ( Kreff et al. 2011, 126) The transnational or transcontinental production chains, the global interconnections of nations, the relative loss of importance of nation-states, and universal commodification and capitalization appear to be particularly important (cf. Auernheimer 2015, 17).

Phases of globalization

There are different ways to divide globalization into phases:

– Globalization 1.0: new age of colonization (1492 to 1800).

– Globalization 2.0: industrialization (1800 to 2000)

– Globalization 3.0: information age (2000 to today)

The first phase is characterized by voyages of discovery, the growth of global trade, and the printing of books. The second phase includes the American as well as the French Revolutions and the invention of the steam engine and the railroad, respectively. Globalization 3.0 is primarily characterized by the World Wide Web as well as wireless and wired data transmission (cf. Mäder 2018, 6).

Another variant to subdivide globalization lies in the distinction of pre-colonial, colonial as well as current phase of globalization (cf. Gingrich 2011, 126).

Globalization as a process

Globalization is a

– perceptual phenomenon, which means that the world (reciprocity) is ‚visible‘ as well as everything is seen by everyone and anyone. This process is primarily characterized by electronic amplification. For example, people perceive the landscapes of other countries or learn new cultural traditions. This ‚visibility‘ is a crucial reason for new migration movements.

– Interaction phenomenon: More and more interactions are taking place internationally. These influence each other and include fashion, movies, art, music, food, etc., in addition to goods and services. Habits such as food are adopted or even changed. Cultures of habitats are no longer limited to one’s own state, but are also accessible to other states.

– Interlocking phenomenon: If the structures of interactions become entrenched, an interlocking phenomenon emerges. Dominant actors (e.g., states) lose state independence are no longer autonomous „entities“ ( Prisching 2019, 403). Moreover, their sovereignty is challenged by the processes (cf. ibid., 403).

5 Dimensions of globalization

Global ecological impacts

– Environmental economics: Ecological crises do not only pose new challenges for the state, but likewise for all other countries. For example, the scarcity of natural resources, increasing traffic or even climate change is a problem for all states, the consequences of which are globally widespread (cf. Preyer 2018, 309).

– Ecological balance: a balance and coordination between „the demand for performance as a social norm and the social balance in the use of the environment“ ( ibid., 310) must be established.

Cultural globalization

– Competition of interpretations: The access of other cultures creates „a global market of cultural associations that compete for members with their promises of redemption.“ (ibid., 311)

– Global diffusion: new forms of an existing practice are recombined so that globalization leads to a new syncretism (cf. ibid., 311).

Economic globalization

– Market opening: the networking of manufacturing, services and marketing by global players leads to new market openings (cf. ibid.).

– Networking: communication technology networking is global. It is assumed that „a global economic system in its structure and function consists of the segments of economic sectors, regions and states.“( ibid., 312)

Political Globalization

– Global governance: global problems, such as diseases or environmental pollution, lead to the need for international regulation. In this context, global governance is not a world government, but an „indirect policy“ (Willke 2002 (FN 307)) that deals with the handling of the problems (cf. Preyer 2018, 314).

– Global governance: there is no actor in the globalized society that could take over the global governance tasks. It is unrealistic for an actor to institutionalize legislation (cf. ibid., 315).

Globalization of social communication through modern communication technologies

– Digital media interconnection: digitization leads to a global exchange of information among each other without the control of state organizations. This exchange could lead to a „change in our understanding of the social, but also of history and consciousness“ (ibid., 316).

– Intermediated Sector: Modern communication technologies are also called intermediated sector, „through which new forms of economic cooperation of organization, communication structures and mutual social observation emerge.“ (ibid., 316) Only through this does a global system of communication emerge (cf. ibid.).

Literature

Auernheimer, Georg (2015): Dimensions of globalization. An introduction. Schwalbach: Wochenschau Verlag.

Duden Wirtschaft von A bis Z (2016): Basic knowledge for school and university, career and everyday life. 6th ed. Mannheim: Bibliographisches Institut.

Kreff, Ferdinand et al. (2011): Lexicon of globalization. Bielefeld: Transkript.

Mäder, Olaf B. (2018): Controlling klipp & klar. Wiesbaden: Springler Gabler.

Preyer, Gerhard (2018): Sociological theory of contemporary society I. Membership theory studies. 2nd ed. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.

Prisching, Mafred (2019): Globalization from a cultural sociological perspective. In: Moebius, Stephan/ Nungesser, Frithjof/ Scherke, Katharina (Eds.): Handbuch Kultursoziologie, Vol. 3: Theorien – Methoden – Felder. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 401-422.

Starke, Peter/ Tosun, Jale (2019): Globalization and diffusion. In: Obinger, Herbert/ Schmidt, Manfred G. (Eds.): Handbook of social policy. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 181-203.

Willke, Helmut (2002): Dystopia. Studies on the crisis of knowledge in modern societies. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.