Globalization and States - Case Study Example

Globalization and s Towards the beginning of 21st century, the world began to change drastically from individualistic approaches of ruling the world (monarchy) to the rising need of networking and mutual cooperation (nation states). Globalization is the recent phenomenon and like other notions of world politics, it has gained much fame that has resulted in various changes globally. It has been a significant process of change, whereby countries and states, and people in general are able to communicate amongst themselves more freely, timely and faster. According to a political expert (Frieden, pp. 256-260), “globalization integrates many countries together.” It is an observation that after globalization, developed and developing countries have got an opportunity to interconnect themselves together (Frieden, pp. 256-260). Since the time when people began to travel and explore the world outside their limited boundaries, an era of development commenced. This development was in the form of advancements in the trade patterns and scientific discoveries (Boutaleb, p.1). However, now the notion of development has acquired a very different and diverse context. It now includes learning from diverse group of people, intermingling of cultures, and working for mutual success. Thus, “Globalization is the phenomenon, which can be stated as intermingling of nations and people culturally, and economically” (Smith, p.1). Transportation and media has shortened the distances between two nations, as well as the people. In today’s era of globalization, one can acquire information about anything, and can move from one continent to another in a matter of time, which otherwise would require years of constant traveling. Moreover, on one hand, people had to perform their work with their hands and had to rely on primitive methods of earning and livelihood in previous years; however, in the recent years, globalization has given access to a bountiful of virtual, natural, and artificial resources that offer their utilization to change the lifestyles completely. It means that people can learn from others experiences and build further on rather than learning by experiencing it themselves and starting any work from scratch. People are social animals, created by God to develop and learn with mutual interaction and contact with the natural surrounding. An individual living on a deserted island cannot rely totally on his own skill as a survivor, no matter how courageous and introvert he is. He needs certain assistance and other human beings to talk, learn, and share his concerns. This dire human need of socialization and networking, and its ultimate power to learn from others and exploring the world, when assumed in a bigger picture, is globalization. Similarly, a state, as a person is a separate physical entity, like being alone on an island, it is incapable of surviving on its own and fulfilling all the demands of its nation. In order to deal with outside world, nations have recently acknowledged the fact that their decisions for national development are critical and should be neighbor-friendly. This is because nations are so in connection with each other that when nation states want to remain isolated from the troubles of surrounding world, they simply cannot (Stiglitz, pp. 132-140). This has resulted in a number of studies carried out regarding the effects of globalization on policy-making capabilities of the states. In the earlier years of globalization, the economic and political situations of the world witnessed their victimization by the rising trend of immediate decision making by hasty and greedy leaders, trade dependency on other countries, and recession in international money market. For countries to decide upon their future prospects and current policies, they have to realize and reflect on their own position as a player in the game of competition amongst countries. In order to be proactive, countries are now ready to come up with solutions, in order to solve concerns immediately. Moreover, they are engaging their professionals in self-analysis schemes and evaluation process to keep the leaders aware of the current strengths and weaknesses of the countries. However, nowadays, nations, apart from their own self-evaluation, also have to analyze their surrounding and all the external factors affecting the said decisions. In this paper, driving forces for globalization, and how they have affected the policy-making ability of the nations, would be enlightened even further. First, to highlight the major driving forces behind globalization, one has to realize that globalization is a trend and the world is in constant flux. In order to deal with the vigilant situation, key determinants of globalization are very crucial to study. The major driving forces behind globalization and arising homogenized trends, are increase in the use of technology, improvement in communication systems and transport mechanisms, and economic dependency of countries over one another (Leautier, pp. 11-15). Modern technology and increment in the quantity of available information has widened the domain of people having access to the information. Nowadays, people are computer savvy and are dependent upon virtual information. Communication technologies like, personal computers, mobile phones, and PDAs have been made available commercially in such a manner that in any country, people if keep their records manually, they seems to exist in the Stone Age. Improvement in the communications systems also had paved the way for immediate feedback and response systems. Gone were the days when one message sent across the continent took more than a week to get the feedback from; however, now states have identified ways to keep contact with neighboring states across continents within minutes, like through email and web-based communication channels. This communication channels have enabled state people to be in contact with the surrounding world, even beyond restrictions of time and space (Vertova, pp. 44-50). Increased use of media has also altered the way people think and behave. People of one country are no longer differentiable from others far apart. This is because, through media, people have started following and re-doing the actions of their neighbors, blindly. Whatever is in hype in media is accessible in all other countries also. Breaking news or immediate emergencies raised in a country can be broadcasted over mass media devices to wide variety of audiences in a matter of minutes. This means that a trend or demand arising in one country soon becomes a demand for another country a swell, even when the culture, economic and political systems of that other country is out of context. This has created a surface level homogeneity amongst people of all nations, consciously or unconsciously. This trend is not limited to people and their behavior, but also to the nation as a whole (IRDC, p.1). Nations are transforming into a huge web of service providers, whose actions are jointly coordinated that has inclined nation states to alter their policies accordingly. One other driving force behind globalization and intermingling of nations is the advancement in the transportation structure. From invention of wheels to fighter jets and supersonic planes, the way people have managed to transfer from one place to another have drastically changed. Transporting people comfortably means to ease the way people used to trade and travel. In other words, such drastic advancements in the field of transportation have enabled policy makers to alter their trade and foreign policies as well. In transporting goods, effective loading and unloading systems, less loss of goods during the travel and timely delivery and supply of materials; are all the important aspects that one has to look into. Thanks to improved communication, technological and transport mechanisms, nations have enhanced their internal structures in such a way to keep a healthy competition with each other. Second issue is how state policies are confronting victimization by the globalization. In other words, how states are forming their policies keeping in mind globalization and its effects. Moreover, it is also crucial for countries to realize that as an entity, having capability of making its decisions; a country is nowadays formulating policies and following decisions that are flexible and long lasting. This means that, with the increment in the availability of information and shortened distance between continents, it is possible that any action taken by one entity would affect the other, either positively or negatively. As discussed earlier, globalization’s determinants are technology and transportation, so in order to be at the same level with the highly developed nations, one should try to remain update regarding advancement in technologies and transportation mechanisms and its utilization. In this regard, nation’s public policies are also in favor the economic and political context of that country and must promote healthy competition and integration in such a way that one nation gets benefit from the other (Mussa, p.1). In general view, before reaching to any conclusion regarding the public policies and matters alike, states are keeping in mind all the pros and cons of that decision on both internal and external stakeholders. Public policy-making is a complex issue and it should be based on critical analysis of the future implications of the same. Following are the important policy observations that nation states are keep in mind in this globalized world. First, there has been a noticeable immigration of people from the underdeveloped countries to those much developed and powerful, in search of better education, jobs, or better lifestyles. In response, political structures are trying to address the issue of diverse communities living on the same grounds, and the way if affects the overall positioning of that country. In either case, both underdeveloped and developed countries are formulating policies to handle the situation arising from the population shift. Policies for the developed countries are catering issues like, culture biasness, employment and social security concerns, travel and accommodation rules, resource allocation and care of indigenous populations due to the notion of globalization. On the other hand, underdeveloped nations are putting efforts to overcome the gap of resource transfer from their own states to others, are generating sources of income by formulating foreign-investment-friendly economic environment, and trying to make plans for intelligent resource mobilization to secure future for the coming generations (ORourke, pp.186-190). Secondly, in this globalized world, another issue important for policymaking is economic dependability of any nation. Every country has their standard sources of income, say from agriculture, travel and tourism, investment returns and production industries (Scheve, p.1). Before a decade or so, nations were confident regarding their possible returns. However, today, globalization has fostered countries to think twice before keeping the same paradigm in the end. It is not appropriate for countries to keep the basis of their economy entirely on one source, but one should try to scatter their resources intelligently. This is because, if any tragedy occurs, because of other players in the market, nation does not declare bankruptcy, but has other survival cards to mobilize their economy once again after a short setback. Thirdly, nations are also taking care of the trade and investment policies. Trade of goods and services, in other words, structure of import and export policies are now flexible and vigilant enough to handle the fluctuating monetary issues (Ostry, p.1). Relationship with other trade partners are now such that at the time of need and in emergencies, timely supply of goods is made sure and this relationship is helping nations to build credibility in the market for identification of future markets. There are now proper investment policies and healthy environment for others, so that they may find environment for investment profitable (Landau, pp. 33-35). In the free trade market also, it is also very significant for a country to keep the quality and cost of the product very competitive. In addition to that, measures are being taken to advertise, brand or market particular products effectively, so that nations may position a state’s distinct feature in their future deals (Rieger, pp. 197-200). Furthermore, trade and investment policies are also looking into tariff and tax structures, investment returns, interest rate, and balance of payments. For a country, sound fiscal and monetary policies determine its stand-alone position in the overall economy. Thus, states are fostering continuous check on these rates, so that people can get a level playing field for their hard work (James, pp. 32-35). In addition to that, countries having location advantages over others for example, power over harbors, deserts, valleys, and mineral resources are endeavoring to make flexible policies. For instance, appropriate transport taxes on shipment of goods from ships, buying and selling of mineral resources, and taking care of country’s archaeological sites. Lastly, analysis has indicated that favorable political situation is also very important for policymaking. Substantial investment and relationship for future progress, for a nation, depends on the political and social contest of a state. Regular chaos amongst political groups, terrorist activities, and unethical practices of leaders, as well as inefficient use of loan money would result in the low credibility of a state (Yeates, p.1). Conclusively, the paper has discussed some of the significant aspects of the driving forces of globalization and its effects on the policy-making capabilities of the states. It is an expectation that the paper will be beneficial for students, teachers, and professionals in better understanding of the topic. Works Cited Boutaleb, Prof. Abdelhadi. Criticism of Globalization: Positive and Negative Aspects, 2003. Retrieved on January 8, 2010: http://www.isesco.org.ma/english/publications/Islamtoday/20/P1.php Frieden, J.A. Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century. W. W. Norton, 2007. IRDC. Sovereignty and Globalization: Government in a State of Confusion, 2000. Retrieved on January 8, 2010: http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-34561-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html James, Harold. The End of Globalisation: Lessons from the Great Depression. Harvard University Press, 2002. Landau, Alice. Redrawing the global economy: elements of integration and fragmentation. Palgrave Macmillan., 2001. Leautier, Frannie. Cities in a globalizing world: governance, performance, and sustainability. World Bank Publications, 2006. Mussa, Michael. Factors Driving Global Economic Integration, 2000. Retrieved on January 8, 2010: http://www.imf.org/external/np/speeches/2000/082500.htm ORourke, Kevin H., Williamson, Jeffrey G. Globalization, and history: the evolution of a nineteenth-century Atlantic economy. MIT Press, 2001. Ostry, Sylvia. Why has "Globalization" become a bad word? 2001. Retrieved on January 8, 2010; http://www.utoronto.ca/cis/ostry.html Rieger, Elmar, Leibfried, Stephan. Limits to globalization: welfare states and the world economy. Wiley-Blackwell, 2003. Scheve, Kenneth F., Slaughter, Matthew. A New Deal for Globalization, Foreign Affairs, July/August, 2007. Smith, M. K. and Doyle M. Globalization the encyclopedia of informal education, 2002. Retrieved on January 8, 2010: www.infed.org/biblio/globalization.htm Stiglitz, Joseph E. Globalization, and its Discontents. W.W. Norton, 2003. Vertova, Giovanna. The changing economic geography of globalization: reinventing space. Routledge, 2006. Yeates, Nicola. Globalization" and Social Policy in a Development Context Regional Responses, 2005. Retrieved on January 8, 2010: http://www.unrisd.org/unrisd/website/document.nsf/(httpPublications)/BC2F4898F6E7B775C1256FF6002EDCC9?OpenDocument Read More