9.7: Student Resources

Key Terms/Glossary

• Alter-globalization: refers to diverse social movements advocating for global cooperation and interaction to counteract the adverse social, political, economic, and environmental effects of modern neoliberal globalization.
• Anti-globalization: traditionally defined as a movement opposed to neoliberal or market-led globalization.
• Decoupling: defined as “the process of weakening interdependence between two nations or bloc of nations.”
• De-globalization: simply the reverse of globalization. It represents the process of weakening interdependence among nations.
• Expatriate: someone who formally lives outside of their country's borders.
• Fragmentation (global trade fragmentation): occurs when new trade patterns emerge, eventually leading to the reconfiguration and breakup of global supply chains.
• Global hospitality management: includes overseeing the operations of travel accommodations, such as hotels, resorts, and restaurants in more than one country.
• Globality: when a global society exists marked by intricate worldwide economic, political, cultural, and environmental interrelations and movements, rendering many of the existing borders and limits largely inconsequential.
• Global strategic communications: an industry which requires people who can communicate effectively across cultures and geographic boundaries.
• Hallyu wave: a cultural phenomenon where South Korean culture has become globally popular, as evidenced through K-Pop music.
• Import compliance officers: ensure adherence to relevant laws, standards, regulations, and policies regarding product safety across all categories.
• Intelligence: defined as information collected and synthesized to help policymakers address threats against their country, its citizens, property, or interests.
• Justice globalism: a different perspective on globalization founded on the egalitarian principles of global solidarity and distributive justice.
• National populism: combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Their leaders often scapegoat immigrant groups, who they blame for many of society’s ills.
• Nonprofits: organizations that offer accessible services for meaningful causes, providing millions of jobs to Americans and contributing significantly to the United States GDP.
• Populism: pertains to a spectrum of political positions that accentuate the notion of “the people,” frequently contrasting this collective with “the elite”.
• Regionalization: broadly defined as a restricted group of states connected by a geographical relationship and a level of mutual interdependence.
• Religious globalism: an alternative perspective on globalization where faith leaders strive to rally a religious community envisioned on a global scale to protect and uphold shared religious values and beliefs.
• Slowbalization: prolonged slowdown in the pace of trade reform and weakening political support for open trade amid rising geopolitical tensions.
• Social movements: involve a substantial group of individuals collaborating to achieve a common goal, such as environmentalism or consumer protection.
• U.S. intelligence community (IC): consists of 18 civilian and defense/military organizations, headed by a Director of National Intelligence (DNI).

Summary

12.1: Introduction to Global Inequality

Is globalization over? The answer depends on whether globalization is a process or a condition. Steger distinguishes between the two. Regarding the latter, he describes it as globality, where it denotes a world societal state distinguished by strong global economic, political, cultural, and environmental interrelations and dynamics. Globalization then comprises a series of social processes that seem to shift our current societal state from traditional nationality to a more globalized one, this aforementioned condition of globality. We must also understand that certain social processes have shifted or even reversed. Given this complexity, it is best to think of the processes of globalization as nonlinear.

12.2: What is Alter-Globalization?

Alter-globalization refers to diverse social movements that resist neoliberal globalization and often includes people who feel wronged or oppressed by globalization. Groups promoting social justice causes advocate for justice globalism. Another alter-globalization movement is religious globalism. Anti-globalization is traditionally defined as a movement opposed to neoliberal or market-led globalization, though lately the resistance has come from the nationalist right. Populism pertains to a spectrum of political positions that accentuate the notion of “the people,” frequently contrasting this collective with “the elite”. National populism simply combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. National-populists often scapegoat immigrant groups, who they focus on as causing many of society’s ills.

12.3:  De-Globalization and What Might Follow

De-globalization is simply the reverse of globalization. It represents the process of weakening interdependence among nations. Just like globalization, de-globalization is a process and not an outcome. Witt, et. al. argue that China and the U.S. are locked in global systemic competition, what is referred to as a great power rivalry in international relations. This has led the authors to suggest that the two countries are decoupling, defined as “the process of weakening interdependence between two nations or bloc of nations.” Not all scholars think that world is de-globalizing. Irwin advocates that the term “slowbalization” should be used instead. Lagarde asserts that the global economy is undergoing more fragmentation than de-globalization. Arezki suggests that countries will cultivate multilayered relationships instead of the tightly interconnected global-level relationships that currently characterize globalization. Others, such as James reason that globalization’s “golden age” is to come in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic and that any view that predicts the end of globalization is premature.

12.4:  What Can You Do with a Global Studies Degree?

This section bookends the textbook with a discussion of potential professions that are possible with a degree in Global Studies. We focus on careers with a global focus, which often means working for an organization, institution, or company that has activities outside of its state's borders. We summarize and then expand on a framework provided by the University of Oregon's Global Studies program. They identify six career paths: U.S. Government; Media; International Business; Tourism Industry; Politics; and the NGO/Nonprofit Sector. Within each career path we elaborate on examples of specific professions that we think Global Studies majors may find interesting.

Suggestions for Further Study

Websites

• AlixPartners 2023, AlixPartners Disruption Index (A website and report that highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic has permanently disrupted the global economy)
• DHL, 2022 DHL Global Connectedness Index (A report on how the world has become even more connected)
• European Center for Populism Studies (A useful resource on contemporary global populism)

Books

• Bello, W. (2013) Deglobalization: An Idea Whose Time Has Come. In Capitalism’s Last Stand: Deglobalization in the Age of Austerity. London: Zed Books, 268-276.
• Mudde, C., and Kaltwasser, C.R. (2017). Populism: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford Academic.
• O’Neil, S.K. (2022). The Globalization Myth: Why Regions Matter. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Journal Articles

• Altman, S.A. and Bastian, C.R. (2022). Trade Regionalization: More Hype Than Reality? Harvard Business Review.
• Bozonelos, D & Tsagdis, D. (2023). From Fragmented Geopolitics to Geopolitical Resilience in International Business. Academy of International Business (AIB) Insights, 23(2): 1-7.
• Witt, M.A. (2019). De-Globalization: Theories, Predictions, and Opportunities for International Business Research. Journal of International Business Studies, 50: 1053-1077.

Review Questions

1. What does globality mean?
   1. A term that denotes a world societal state distinguished by strong global economic, political, cultural, and environmental interrelations and dynamics.
   2. A term that pertains to a spectrum of political positions that accentuate the notion of “the people,” frequently contrasting this collective with “the elite”.
   3. It is when a substantial group of individuals collaborate to achieve a common goal, such as environmentalism or consumer protection.
   4. A term that describes movements opposed to neoliberal or market-led globalization.
2. Where have national-populists recently been politically successful?
   1. Netherlands; Argentina; Hungary; Italy; Poland; and Brazil
   2. Brazil; Venezuela; Greece; Spain: Bolivia; and Nicaragua
   3. United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Spain; and Greece
   4. None of these answers are correct
3. Which answer below is not one of the "threats" that national-populists center on when addressing immigration?
   1. The threat to one’s employment, referred to as the economic threat hypothesis.
   2. The threat to one's household, referred to as the castle threat hypothesis.
   3. The threat to one’s cultural or national identity, referred to as the cultural threat hypothesis.
   4. Since the U.S. September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks, the threat to one’s personal security of physical safety, also known as the security threat hypothesis.
4. What is decoupling?
   1. Defined as the study of how geography affects politics and the relations among states.
   2. Defined as the process of weakening interdependence between two nations or bloc of nations.
   3. Defined as the reverse of globalization. It represents the process of weakening interdependence among nations.
   4. Defined as diverse social movements advocating for global cooperation and interaction to counteract the adverse social, political, economic, and environmental effects of modern neoliberal globalization.
5. Which answer below is not one of the possible scenarios for the future of globalization?
   1. Slowbalization
   2. De-globalization
   3. Regionalization
   4. Americanization

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Why is globalization better understood as a process rather than a condition? How does it also help us understand de-globalization?
2. What is decoupling? How is it a feature of de-globalization? Why does it matter that the decoupling is happening between the world’s two largest economies, the U.S. and China?
3. Are we headed towards de-globalization, re-globalization, slowbalization, fragmentation, or regionalization? Of these scenarios, which one appeals to you the most?