International Politics And Economics
Through this article Scholte try to explain the definition of globalization. According to the author globalization is a complex phenomenon with a wide spectrum to all levels of human life: economic, political, scientific, social, cultural, moral, religious and spiritual. The issue of defining the phenomenon of globalization has been a matter of concern for the international academic community in recent decades. However, as Scholte observe, to date it has not been possible to find a specific definition or interpretation of the concept or process of globalization that is generally accepted.
According to Scholte globalization means the perception and organization of the world as one and all. In particular, the term 'perception' refers to the spiritual - symbolic dimension of globalization, while the term 'organization' refers to the institutional - functional organization of the world including the economy. Globalization is a complex objective development with a spiritual and material basis, but at the same time it is a pursuit of satisfying specific interests and needs. According to Robertson, every aspect of human life since the 20th century has been interdependent worldwide. The 'world state theory' having as the driving force behind the development and adoption of a global culture, namely a framework of universally and rationally acceptable goals, such as: development, progress etch as well as fundamental principles such as human rights, justice, etc. , as globalization is defined as the possibility of creating collective values by international governmental or non-governmental organizations, nation-states, social movements and scientists.
Scholte’s paper develops a definition in four main steps in order to create a realistic and specific perspective of globalization in present times. Scholte analyze the term of globalization through the academic vocabulary, redundant and generate definitions of globalization, conceptualism of globalization and supraterritorial social relations.
Scholte analyse the definition from the general way to particular area. Author start his analysis from the fundamental terminology as the academic vocabulary for the globalization and then the redundant concepts. The article mentions that when globalization is referred to as internationalization when Ideas of globalization-as-internationalization are attractive insofar as they entail a minimum of intellectual and political perspectives. For example, global relations can be examined on the same ontological and methodological grounds as international relations. Global Economics can be the same sort of enquiry as International Economics. The study of Global Politics need not differ from traditional International Politics, global culture is equivalent to international culture. globalization-as-internationalization gives the comforting message that the new can be wholly understood in terms of the familiar. Τhe article also refers to the concept of Universalization, Liberalization, Westernization. Globalisation-as-universalisation is assumed to entail homogenisation with worldwide cultural,economic, legal and political convergence. In the case of Liberalization, globalisation denotes a process of removing officially imposed restrictions on movements of resources between countries in order to form an ‘open’ and ‘borderless’ world economy. Westernization/ globalisation structures of Western modernity (capitalism, industrialism, rationalism, urbanism, etc. ) are spread across all of humanity, in the process destroying pre-existent cultures and local self-determination.
Τhe author is trying to simplify the meaning of the definition by starting with more generic terminology and explaining every detail. There is another approach in order to define globalisation. This approach refer to globalisation as the spread of transplanetary connections between people. From this perspective, globalisation involves reductions in barriers to transworld social contacts. People become more able – physically, legally, linguistically, culturally and psychologically – to engage with each other wherever on earth they might be. To clarify this crucial point is important the space of social relations, as well, the terms of transplanetary and transworld meaning. Space is the area that social relations take place. Globality in the broader sense of transplanetary relations refers to social relations between people located anywhere on earth. In cases of supraterritoriality, place is not territorially arranged, territorial distance is covered in no time and territorial boundaries. The difference between territorial time-space compression and the rise of supraterritoriality is qualitative and entails a deeper structural change of geography. As well, international exhanges occur between country units, while global transactions occur within a planetary unit.
Τhe author attempted to analyze the concept of globalization through the concept of basic vocabulary in order to find associations and separations and finally to approximate the concept of globalization.
Globalization is a complex phenomenon that extends to all levels of human life: economic, political, scientific, social, cultural, moral, religious and spiritual. In other words, it is the process of transforming the country into a single economic, political and cultural territory, through the steady decline in the importance of national political boundaries and geographical distance. According to the author the geographical focus of globality differ from the international, open-border transactions and transplanetary focu. Although globalisation as defined here has connections onto, internationalisation, liberalisation, universalisation and westernisation, it is not equivalent to any of these older concepts and trends. Scholte analyse the notion of global and globalisation in order to explain the term of globalisation from a distinctive way. In other words, the relationship between the various factors of globalization is a relationship of autonomy and interdependence. More specifically, it is an interaction process, in which economic globalization - a dimension of which is also financial globalization - is promoted by technological globalization, but at the same time is reinforced by political globalization, which is a necessary complement to economic globalization. On the other hand, social and cultural globalization are inevitable consequences of economic globalization. Scholte’s point of view is helpful and explain the notion of globalization through a wide and multi-dimensional way that can give space for further examination and research.
References
Robertson, R. (1992). Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture, SAGE Publications, London.
Scholte, Jan Aart (2008),Defining Globalisation, World Economy, 31(1): 1471-1502
