Saturday, November 11, 2017

W10. Political globalization / Yeonju Heo

Political globalization

 
2015048995 Yeonju Heo
 

1. Summary

 
 Political globalization may lead to a decline of the nation state, but it also creates a new kind of politics. Political globalization opens the possibility of new emancipation to some, but loses autonomy and divides the social world to some others. In this chapter, we try to approach political globalization in terms of the diversity and relationship of globalization.
 
 There are three dimensions of political globalization. The first is the geopolitics of global power. Democratic countries in many parts of the world have created very different kinds of political culture. The globalization of democratic politics became the basis of the new world order. The United States is no longer able to establish global hegemony and has been challenged by states which is the center of power. The second dimension of political globalization is the rise of a global normative culture. It is related to human rights, not only at the heart of global cosmopolitanism, but also includes global environmental issues. Political communication is no longer limited to the border. At one time, the state was the main agent of the world norm, but now the world normative culture exists beyond the national system. These world normative cultures provide normative reference points for the state and directions for politicians. In addition to this globalization, there is another dimension of globalization that has low relation to the state and can not be reduced to a global normative culture. It is a form of non-national politics that can not be reduced to a single center, and is related to the network, the new mobility, and the source of communication. Through this, we can talk about different kinds of world political order related to the concept of global civil society. Now, we will examine political globalization through the following four cases. : the transformation of nationality and citizenship, the public sphere and political communication, civil society, and space and borders.
 
 The first case is 'THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE NATION-STATE, NATIONALITY AND CITIZENSHIP'. The concept of the decline of the nation-state should be replaced by the idea of ​​the nation's ongoing change. A nation is a powerful doer but exist in a globally connected world and can not have fully control. According to Susan Strange, the states have been usurped by global markets. Instead of trying to gain territorial power, most states try to control the state of the competitor. In an approach that focuses on the impact of global civil society, the nation states claim to share sovereignty with nongovernmental entities. The state always has regulatory functions. What is important today is that these functions are done at the transnational level through cooperation with other countries. According to Robinson, a transnational state has come into existence and it is a multilayered and multicentred. The nation-state has not disappeared, but has transformed into a functional component of transnational institutions and a major agent of world capitalism. In this level of analysis, globalization restructures the state surrounding global capitalism and makes it impossible for the state to become independent.

 The second case is 'THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE PUBLIC SPHERE AND COMMUNICATION'. Communication is the center of politics. The state is based on a centralized communication system from media to popular culture. Political parties exert social influence at the center of political communication. According to Habermas, communication is institutionalized by the state or is wholly controlled by the elites. The public sphere is a place of politics, not simply a spatial location, but a process of controversy. So far, this has been regarded as a public domain of the state, but the social theory of the newly emerging public sphere has shifted to a broader view of the international community. The world is inside, not outside of society. Therefore, political communication emerges in the public domain framed by global problems. The world normative culture plays an important role in political communication. Political globalization is noticeable in the changes of political communication and in the broad changes of the public sphere.

 The third case is 'THE CENTRALITY OF CIVIL SOCIETY'. Civil societalization of politics means the commonality of political forms at the regional, global, national and transnational levels. Civil society addresses the contradictory trends of globalization by addressing a wide range of political activities, including democratic confrontations within the national system, political debates, and global issues. Increasing interaction opportunities between domestic politics and international politics have led to the growth of global civil society. Global civil society is not a collection of existing national civil society, but is based on a political virtual world.

 The last case is 'THE TRANSFORMATION OF SPACES AND BORDERS'. The power of the global process has transcended borders and annihilated the streets. The rescaling of politics as a result of globalization has redefined the role and meaning of the border and space in the construction of politics. The perception of the possibility of transformation of globalization encouraged the transformation of society and politics. Space is not simply a given, but a component of society and political relations. The concept of borderless world, which is considered as a symbol of globalization, has now become a reality. Borders are dispersed throughout society.

 The beginning of the world normative culture and civic socialization are complex and sometimes contradictory. Democracy generates democratic deficits and personalizes the possibilities of new cosmopolitan collectivities. In addition, the development of global civil society poses new instabilities and risks. Political globalization has created new tensions.
 


2. New, interesting or unusual items I learned

 
 In this chapter, I learned about the political globalization. I thought political globalization is more complex and severe concept than cultural globalization I have learned before. Political globalization reduces the physical distance between nations and pulls down the border like cultural globalization. However, it seems that political globalization implies more seriously than cultural globalization about the uniformity and new risks of globalization. It was interesting that one concept of political globalization could be the double-edged sword of 'possibility of new liberation' and 'division of social world and loss of autonomy'. As mentioned in this article, the world is inside society, Therefore, in order to use double-edged sword of political globalization in a good direction, it is necessary to have a proper understanding of political globalization, and constant communication in the public sphere.
 


3. Discussion

 
 Political globalization has the risk of losing the autonomy and divisions of the social world. 'Political globalization' can not be a harmony of world politics, rather it can be a political domination of one nation to another. And the risk will probably come from developing countries. Though there are resistance movements against political domination and hegemony, it is doubtful whether the developing countries can resist the developed countries. What can we do to ensure that every country can make fair political proposals? No matter how much I think, I do not get a clear answer. If so, is the world really the borderless world? I think that 'borderless world' is a slick expression for exercising the force in the logic of harmony. Is it right to describe the loss of autonomy by political globalization as 'borderless'?

2 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I agree with your opinion. I think so that it is doubtful whether the developing countries can resist the developed countries though there are resistance movements against political domination and hegemony. I think it is so hard to ensure that every country can make fair political proposals. But If the political proposal and hegemony by the developed countries can be also acceptable to the developing countries, there are some ways to make their needs. If that is thing which they could not receive, the role of civil society in the nation-state or global civil society become important.

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