Your detailed and thorough post due by Wednesday@MIDNIGHT for full credit (A). Partial credit (C) can be earned by posting late, which is better than a ZERO.
Remember, weekly blogging is worth 1/3 of your entire semester grade.
Be sure to communicate with Dr. W as needed - rob.williams@madriver.com.
Read and blog INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL STUDIES, Chapters 1-3.
2) EVIDENCE: Post and number THREE specific observations from EACH CHAPTER of our reading(s) that supports your thesis.
Use 2-3 sentences for each observation, and combine direct quotations from the text (AUTHOR's LAST NAME, 27), with IYOW analysis.
3) QUESTION: Include in your post a SINGLE SPECIFIC question you'd ask the class based on our readings.
Post your responses here, please!
ReplyDeletePart 1:
ReplyDelete1) THESIS:
Chapter 1: Globalization is constantly affecting our world down to small communities as ideas are spread to influence economics, politics, and cultures, which brings people to study the process.
Chapter 2: Historic globalization has resulted in increased literacy, wealth, and spread of positive ideas, but has also affected smaller countries and inhibited their ability to develop and provide for their citizens, which has resulted in more movement of people around the world.
Chapter 3: International Organizations can be divided into two subgroups: intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations, and nongovernmental organizations like The World Wildlife Fund.
2) EVIDENCE:
Chapter 1:
1. Global studies is interdisciplinary as it influences multiple facets of society and fields of study. Globalization transforms societies, so it’s understandable that researchers continue to study the process and try to “make connections between these different perspectives” (Campbell et al, 3). I found it interesting throughout the chapter as the authors explored how you must have knowledge in multiple fields to even begin to understand how globalization affects communities and our world.
2. I was interested in how the authors explained deterritorialization. The authors explain, “...territory, defined as a geographically identifiable space, is no longer the only locale in which social activity can occur” (Campbell et al, 5). Especially with the presence of the internet, which the authors describe having “intensified and extended global connections and interdependencies”, people are finding new ways to connect and learn about other cultures which didn’t exist before (Campbell et al, 8). This presents a new phenomenon which researchers will need to understand in order to explain how cultures develop and change.
3. The example about how the civil war in the DRC illustrates how the multiple processes that affect a culture are becoming increasingly difficult to control. “Although peace was proclaimed in 2003 with the establishment of a transitional government, much of the east of the country has remained insecure, contributing to the continuation of what researchers have called ‘the world’s deadliest humanitarian crisis,’” the authors describe (Campbell et al, 6). This crisis may continue longer than most historical events due to the contributing forces which are increasingly harder to limit, like the environmental impacts.
Chapter 2:
1. The idea of how literacy and education affects globalization is interesting. The authors describe that “The expansion of literacy was also a key component in the rise of the nation state system, making possible written contracts, currency, the transference of ideals, norms of behavior, and laws that, once recorded, became easier to pass from one generation to another” (Campbell et al, 33). This can be connected to what I wrote from chapter 1 about how the internet has expanded globalization and how literacy and the ease of information continues to develop and educate future generations.
2. The authors address how colonization has affected countries that previously were under european rule. They explain that “the majority of states that are struggling in the current global nation-state system are former European colonies” (Campbell et al, 36). Now that these countries have backed out of the “colonies”, the people who now inhabit these lands are struggling without the aid of the larger and more developed countries, also because they themselves have never been in positions of leadership within their countries.
3. The ease of migration from a country’s perspective has decreased. From a migrant or refugee’s perspective, the ease of movement is facilitated with the “increased access to information, expanded communication mechanisms, and well-developed transportation linkages” (Campbell, 39).
Part 2:
ReplyDeleteChapter 3:
1. Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) are made up of three or more nation-states that write and sign a document describing agreed goals or compromise. With over 300 IGOs recognized by 2008, it is a common theme that IGOs are developed following wars and conflicts because IGOs can be used to “help maintain peace and foster prosperity… to prevent conflict between nation-states” (Campbell, 54).
2. IGOs don’t inherently have political pull or jurisdiction, but can act as the overarching advisor to nation-states, which sometimes leads to intense disputes. The UN, for example, has a history of carrying controversial political decisions like the recognition of Taiwan as the Republic of China until 1971 or letting powerful countries restrict membership of the UN from countries “that were not sympathetic to their respective countries and ideologies” (Campbell, 58).
3. NGOs are much more common than IGOs because they are private organizations that act as their own entity, without government involvement. They are different from IGOs because they don’t have the jurisdiction and legal sway that governments do, and instead “rely on moral authority, information, and advocacy to be effective” (Campbell, 77).
3) QUESTION: How has the idea or intent of globalization changed over time in the past 300 years?
Chapter One:
ReplyDeleteThesis:
The study of globalization is extremely important due to it affecting our whole world in economic, social forces, political, and complex connections and how we should make the distant become more local.
Chapter Two:
Thesis:
The main political, social, and economic system that is used today is the nation-state system; which has caused multiple challenges for countries with not as much power, materials, and resources.
Chapter Three:
Thesis:
The international governmental organization (IGOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have helped develop the political, social, economic, environmental, and cultural roles in the world.
Chapter One:
“As the planet shrinks under the forces of globalization, new institutions and media continue to emerge that foster the growth of a global civil society that transcends national boundaries” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 26). We are working to protect human rights around the world. As active global citizens, we should be leaning towards understanding local and global links between human rights, human duties, and cosmopolitan beliefs.
“In an interconnected world, distant events and forces can have a profound impact on local endeavors” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 5). The fact that the phone that I am using could potentially be linked to rebels and abuse is wild to me and something I definitely haven’t thought about before.
What is interesting to me is that “most major cities around the world share more similarities than ever before, and many of these similarities are Western” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 18). The fact that we are all so similar and a good amount of people cannot realize this blows my mind. Maybe it is the fact that they chose to focus on the differences more.
Chapter Two:
ReplyDeleteColonialism was a major reason why the nation-state system spread across the world. This was a huge issue as well as a challenge to the European states. Colonialism is described as “one territorial sovereign exerting control and sovereignty over another land by usurping control from local leaders, thereby destroying indigenous culture, economies, and political structures” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 36); which left them with even less.
The indigenous peoples that lands were taken over in Europe, became part of the encomienda system which was tortious. They were already struggling in the nation-state system and this was only worsening the situation trying to change their civilization. “Native Americans were enslaved, brutalized, annihilated, raped, forced and encouraged to become sex slaves” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 36).
“Rapid population growth combined with economic difficulties push people to move out of their habitat, and a declining and ageing population pressures countries to accept migrants” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 39). The nation-state is supposed to be homogenous, however, there was so much migration happening that unity could not happen.
Chapter Three:
The international community set up the United Nations (UN), which is apart of the IGO, as a way to prevent conflict. A function of the UN is the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). This organ is responsible for “promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social progress; identifying solutions to international economic, social, and health problems; facilitating international cultural and educational cooperation; and encouraging universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 60). This is huge for helping to develop international cooperation.
There are a couple of types of NGOs but seeing that there are environmental NGOs made me really happy. “Environmental NGOs focus on improving the state of the natural environment such as air, water, land clean up initiatives, the preservation of natural landscapes, animals, resources, and sustainable use of land and recourses” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 77). Developing and advocating for the environment is crucial for the planet.
“Like their IGO counterparts, NGOs often step in to address needs that are not being taken care of by governments, but are also challenging states to expand their view of self-interest to include notions of global connections and human security” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 83). This means that by having NGOs we are helping all over the world to connect, develop, and care for crises that happen as well as learn for them.
Question:
How can we help globalization as a student at Champlain? (I hope I worded this question correctly)
Thesis)
ReplyDeleteChapter 1: Globalization is an inevitable byproduct of a constantly advancing world, and because of its massive effects on things like our cultures, economies, and politics its study is necessary, so that we may better cope with its side effects as global citizens.
Chapter 2: Today we are seeing the devastating impacts of poorly handled globalization by unconcerned global citizens, specifically in many former european colonies.
Chapter 3: IOs are a necessity in a world with complex borders and relationships in order to preserve fairness and peoples human rights.
Evidence)
Chapter 1:
1) globalization is nothing new, we have always been living in a constantly shrinking world. However that world has been shrinking exponentially fast the book clearly states “Awareness of ... the processes of globalization clearly are not unique to this current historical moment. However, most scholars would agree that globalization processes have accelerated dramatically since the 1980s.”(Campbell, 9-10). However, this exponential growth has had some unfortunate side effects.
2) one of the biggest side effects of globalization that the chapter talks about is the hybridization of cultures, more specifically the “western” influence of the usa. There is a very real argument in our world today about whether or not this is good or bad, the book even states somewhat comically that “Clearly, scholars take different positions regarding the effects and forces of cultural globalization.”(Campbell, 21). However It needs to be accepted as an unfortunate unintentional side effect of the unstoppable force of globalization. It’s perfectly fine to worry about the dilution of your culture but rather than argue about it study what is causing it and work towards its preservation.
3) however, some of globalizations side effects are not that accidental. For example some SAPs implemented by the IMF and World Bank that were meant to help developing countries ended up contributing “to increases in pollution and the degradation of the environment in many countries due to the removal of environmental regulations and the unbridled extraction of natural resources for foreign markets.”(Campbell, 14). This kind of blatant abuse of power for profit hurts developing countries and it is our duty as global citizens to ensure that everyone is treated fairly.
Chapter 2:
1) After the churches fall from power and the European embrace of sovereignty there was a boom in colonialism, europe “launched into empire building in other parts of the world, where they refused to recognize the sovereignty of non-European political entities.”(Campbell, 36). This was a blatant infringement upon these nations human rights.
2) The europeans careless destruction of individual nations and the forced adoption of the nation state system has left lasting scars on our world. In these colonized lands we see “ cross-border conflicts, unstable governments, and heightened ethnic, religious, and social conflict as a result of illogical borders that dissected ethnic groups”(Campbell, 37). And now we have to deal with these problems created by europeans who were acting as unconcerned global citizens.
3) we still see this abuse of power over smaller nation states as recently as the cold war. Where we saw “former colonies were used as pawns in the Cold War between the West and the Soviet Union.”(Campbell, 38). It almost seems as if no action is ever taken in order to help developing nations. But rather it seems to always be about how to I abuse indigeonous people or their land for benefit.
Chapter 3:
ReplyDelete1) a perfect example of an IGO dedicated to the preservation of human rights is the UN. the UN has overseen a variety of tasks solely in the pursuit of a better world “such as assisting refugees and other vulnerable groups, working toward the eradication of diseases like smallpox, providing a forum for debate, and acting as a clearinghouse for information”(Campbell, 67) they are vital in protecting the interests of everyone, not just the powerful.
2) another vital type of IO is NGOs who “rely on moral authority, information, and advocacy to be effective.”(Campbell, 77). NGOs usually try to protect what is moral through the gathering and dissemination of information hoping that change will be brought about by good global citizens if they are simply made aware of injustices.
3) When IOs fail to protect the interests of all their members and instead represent only the powerful they inevitably collapse. The league of nations is a perfect example, “when Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles...League members had already established a pattern indicating that they lacked the political will to challenge powerful countries’ acts of war”(Campbell, 56). Who knows how many casualties could have been avoided if the league had shown actual resistance before the start of WWII.
Question) do you think it is up to our governments to handle the side effects of rapid globalization, or up to us as concerned global citizens?
Thesis -
ReplyDeleteChapter 1: Globalization has become an integral part of our world due to constantly evolving technology allowing individuals to share ideas that affect social, political and economic processes in different communities around the world.
Chapter 2: The idea of the nation-state system has become the prominent system due advancements in literacy, rising popularity of secularism and the idea of sovereignty. While at the same time has caused a variety of problems for former European colonies.
Chapter 3: Intergovernmental Organizations are a group of nation states are dedicated to both improving relations and promoting prosperity between nation-states.
Evidence -
Chapter 1:
1. “The Internet, email, blogs, RSS feeds, satellites, cell phones, webcams, and various electronic handheld devices allow human beings all over the world to connect with each other instantaneously, breaking down the barriers of time and space that have individuals and communities from each other in the past.” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 2). Areas are rarely isolated from one another, especially due to the advent of the internet of things. The internet of things is a system of interconnected devices with the ability to transfer data without human to human interaction.
2. This rapid advancement of technology does have its negatives however, for example in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) “the pursuit of coltan has led to mass displacements, as rebels attacked villages and drove families from their homes in order to exploit their coltan-rich land.” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 6). Coltan is an extremely valuable mineral since it is used in the production of various critical components in electronic devices such as cellphones/computers. This obviously has had a major effect on the region as a whole, causing millions of deaths and propelling a good portion of the DRC into chaos even though peace was proclaimed in 2003.
3. At the same time this rapid advancement of technology has allowed the sharing of ideas/information to be easier than ever. “high -speed communication and transportation technologies compress time, enabling “fast flows and movements of people, information, capital, and goods.”” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 8). Evidence of this can be seen everyday, from electronic mailing services to high speed transportation technologies such as planes/cars. These pieces of technology allows individuals to connect with one another with relative ease.
Chapter 2:
ReplyDelete1. Due to the expansion of literacy this allowed more individuals to interpret ideas/concepts differently. For example, when the printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg this allowed the Bible to be more available to the general public. “As more people read the Bible, more interpretations of its content began to circulate. These interpretations, sometimes conflicting, called into question the Church’s role as the sole authority on the Bible.” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 33). This directly leads to the growth of secularism, and the idea of the nation-state.
2. In the early 1600s the religious tensions came to a head and Europe was plunged into war (The Thirty Years War) which turned out to be one of Europe's bloodiest conflicts. “The Thirty Years War ended with the Peace of Westphalia ...This was the first time that many European leaders came together and recognized one anothers territorial sovereignty”. (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 34). This concept of territorial sovereignty would allow a state to make their own decisions free from outside influence, and would give rise to the concept of the nation-state.
3. While the idea of the nation-state did benefit many Europeans the same cannot be said for their colonies however. “Europeans perceived the indigenous peoples who inhabited the areas they conquered as primitive, childlike, and in need of European guidance to become “civilized ``''. (Campbell,MacKinnon,Stevens, 36). Due to this general mistrust of the indegenous peoples this lead to them being generally excluded from colonial government positions. Once these colonies gained their independence this meant that a lot of native individuals had zero experience in administering a nation-state. This led to most of these former colonies struggling for stability and security of their nation.
Chapter 3:
1. While the league of nations is often cited to be perhaps one of the most unsuccessful IGOs ever created due to the fact that it did not prevent the outbreak of world war two, it still was able to promote peace for a time. “A Greek incursion into Bulgarian territory in 1925 was quickly resolved when the League, led by the major powers, condemned the action and sent observers to the border region between the two countries.” (Campbell, MacKinnon, Stevens, 55). This is only one of the disputes out of more than thirty that the League was able to resolve peacefully.
2. Further evidence of this can be found when the authors state “One of the key goals of the League was the maintenance of peace. Of the 26 articles in the League’s charter, 10 dealt directly with the promotion of peace.” (Campbell,MacKinnon, Stevens, 55). The nation states that joined the League of Nations were asked to not use war as a tool to impose their will onto another state and to respect the territorial sovereignty of other nation states.
3. Not only did the League seek to stop conflicts from occurring but it also sought to promote prosperity between nation states. For example “The League began the important task of information collection and analysis of economic, social, and political data…”. (Campbell,MacKinnon, Stevens, 56). This would later influence the very foundation of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, which is a council that seeks to promote cooperation and prosperity between nation-states.
Question: How can the global community help the former European colonies develop and become prosperous/stable?
Chapter 1:
ReplyDeleteThesis:
Globalization has only been advancing and getting faster, which makes not only the people more knowledgeable about the world, but the ideas and concepts being able to spread quickly as well.
Evidence:
1). Even though there have always been people who are aware of what goes on in the world, most scholars are in agreement that “globalization processes have accelerated” within the last 30-40 years. Because of this, an “intensification” of the global awareness, whether it be locally or far away. Many attribute this contemporary increase of global awareness to the invention of the web and personal computer from IBM and Tim-Berners Lee repectivally(Campbell 9-10).
2). The rise of migration could be related with this intense global awareness present within today's world. Even though it “disrupts the unity” of Nation States, people are migrating all over the world in order for better opportunities or freedom. Because of this migration, multiculturalism is being adapted into many nation states “official policy” in order to promote peaceful relations between all the different groups living amongst each other (Campbell 16).
3). Another byproduct have having such an immense global awareness and processes is the transformation of societies. Thanks to “the rise of transnational corporations, ubiquity of Western popular culture, and the ease of long distance, high speed travel”, many places around the globe are changing. This is a double edged sword however, due to this transformation, many places are able to experience what the west has to offer in terms of businesses and leisure, but with the erasure of what once was there being the cost (Cambell 18-19)
Chapter 2:
Thesis:
Even though the emergence of Nation States represented the growth of religious freedom, literacy and an overall increase of intelligence within the population, plenty of issues are emerging that they have to face internally and externally in order to try and remain in control.
Evidence:
1). Although nation states makes one think of a “homogeneous culture” living together, often times that is not the case. With the presence of ethnic minorities and migrants living within specific territories a lot of conflict has arisen from this. “Religious cleavages”, such as the Catholics and Protestants in Ireland or the Hindus and Muslims trying to determine how to control specific provinces of India are some of the most common issues from this struggle of coexistence (Campbell 38).
2). Although groups such IGO’s appear to only be assisting the nation states, they can oftentimes force to “modify behavior in accordance with the IGO’s goals” even if the nation state doesn’t agree with it. Nation states usually have to go with the IGO due to amount of “perceived benefits” that come from it, even though the sovereignty of said nation state will be lowered. Not only that but when IGO’s get more powerful, they will start to punish members more and more who violate their rules (Campbell 40).
3). In worst case scenarios, these external and internal issues can cause what scholars call “failed states”. These “failed states” not only represent the failure of being able to manage with all of the threats they face, but they also begin to threaten states that are surrounded by it. The cause of “Africa’s Great War” was mainly caused by Rwanda becoming a “failed state”. after the genocide in 1994 Hutu's fled to refugee camps in Zaire and the Tutsi began to chase after them once reports of the genocide continuing in said camps (Campbell 48-49).
Chapter 3:
ReplyDeleteThesis:
IO’s are important organizations to try and unify us globally, and while they try their best, they often times are quite decisive and don’t do everything they set out to do.
Evidence:
1). An important IGO in terms of commerce is the WTO, which began originally “as the demand for more international cooperation” after World War 1. The first effort, being the ITO, failed pretty quickly but its successor, GATT did quite well establishing trade rules and establish trade relations despite it being a treaty. However, it became an IGO once it got rebranded as the WTO, which while based on GATT got rid of the trade preferences between different places, covered “products of innovation”, and tried to establish trade being “free from discrimination”, which people both on the left and right do not seem to appreciate(Campbell 67).
2). Regional NGOs began to emerge, one of the most well known being the EU, forming after World War 2, europe wanted to move from “extreme forms of nationalism” to “unification and centralization”. Coming together officially after years of being under different organizations, the EU was able to establish a common currency and removed trade barriers between places such as France, Italy, West Germany and the UK. However, the EU tried to micromanage the day to day lives of the citizens too much such as specific “brands of ketchup in US-owned-fast-food restaurants” and the airing of specific TV shows in certain places(Campbell 70).
3). NGOs growth has been “dramatic” since the beginning of the 20th century, not only in numbers but in their role of the “international community”, whether it be human rights, development or environmental concerns. Ngos rely on “moral authority, information and advocacy” to be able to make a difference since they do not have legal power or financial power like other organizations. While they try their best, NGOs do not often work well together and things such as international memberships can cause a lot of division within organizations (Campbell 76-77.79).
Question:
Is there a way we can control what gets spread globally, or is anything created bound to be spread at this point?
Chapter 1:
ReplyDeleteThesis: Globalization is constantly affecting and changing our world view through different lenses such as: economical, political, and cultural that change how we study and perceive the world around us.
Evidence:
1. Using the term lenses Is something I find very familiar because it’s a term we use a lot at Champlain college. In the reading it states, “global studies label are developed around the idea that this is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary enterprise” (Campbell, Mackinnon, Stevens, 3). Multidisciplinary is combining multiple academic topics to discuss a topic so approaching globalization, it is important to look at it through many lenses and perspectives. The chapter states how at first scholars were looking at globalization through a single area of discipline but then realize how taking a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach is more accurate because of all the factors that go into globalization.
2. Free trade was discuss during this chapter and I found two things very interesting; first, “free trade has become one of the most common economic buzzwords associated with economic globalization” (Campbell, Mackinnon, Stevens, 13), and “the gap between rich and poor countries is actually widening rather than shrinking” (Campbell, Mackinnon, Stevens, 13). Free trade is something that has always been interesting because looking into our history and examining the Triangular Trade. It helped with economic growth in American and Europe, but then it also helped expand the gap between those countries and Africa. I also feel as though this is a good example of why looking at globalization through multiple lenses is important.
3. There is many different perspectives and “together they affect and are affected by the actions of individuals, organizations, and governments, and these effects are distrusted unevenly across the globe” (Campbell, Mackinnon, Stevens, 21). Using and understanding different perspective can be beneficial in forming an idea about globalization.
Chapter 2
ReplyDeleteThesis: Globalization has helped with the sharing of information and creation of nation-state systems, but in turn has also negatively affected smaller/weaker communities.
Evidence:
1. Globalization lead to the spread of knowledge when the bible began to be printed, and interpreted in different ways which lead to the decline of the political power of the church. Which in turn lead to the “emergence of the nation-state system, which is organized around national, and generally secular, difference rather than spiritual unity” (Campbell, Mackinnon, Stevens, 33). When individuals were able to interpret the bible differently it lead to different information and knowledge that was shared throughout the communities.
2. I think it is really important to question globalization and how it has negatively impacted communities and cultures that once were, as “religious, ethnic, linguistic, regional, and socioeconomic differences within a country are not always diverse, but they can lead to conflict” (Campbell, Mackinnon, Stevens, 38). Especially looking at the minority communities and how they may have to conform to a westernize culture.
3. “When citizens transfer their expectation for basic services from nation-states to NGOs, they also began to question the purpose and legitimacy of their governments” (Campbell, Mackinnon, Stevens, 41). This can lead straight to the negative impacts and how a community can begin to distrust their government, in a show of force or violence. In turn, this can also lead to the positive of sharing information and knowledge throughout nation-states.
Chapter 3
ReplyDeleteThesis: IGOs and NGOs have helped set up a framework around the world to maintain political, economic, environmental, human rights, and many more roles to maintain peace throughout the world.
Evidence:
1. The most prominent IGO is the United Nations; many IGO’s “consists of three or more nation-states that have signed a treaty legally establishing the organization and specifying its purpose”( Campbell, Mackinnon, Stevens, 52). This league of nations was created to help hold peace between the countries. The League of nations held together peace between smaller nation-states from each but didn’t always hold the piece between bigger nation-states when, WWII happened nineteen years later.
2. The concept of peacekeeping was very interesting to me throughout this chapter and how the IGOs and NGOs thought “peacekeeping [out to be] the process whereby soldiers from nation-state not involved in a conflict area to act as a buffer” (Campbell, Mackinnon, Stevens, 54). I believe this is important because it allows multiple countries to have accountability for each other.
3. “Like their IGOs counterpart, NGOs often step in to address needs that are not being taken care of by governments, but they are challenging states to expend their view of self-interest to include notions of global connectedness and human security” (Campbell, Mackinnon, Stevens, 83). This quote really made me think of all the companies that promote to help third world countries, and how this helps and inhibited the smaller governments.
Question:
How does a larger nation-state begin to globalize with sharing their ideas instead of forcing or impeding their ideas on smaller nation-state systems?
Chapter 1 Thesis
ReplyDeleteGlobalization affects all parts of life in all corners of the earth in all communities over the world.
Evidence
1. By supporting developing countries with economical support the world bank will help level out the in economics in all countries “The IMF and the World Bank provided loans for developing countries, but by the 1970s, they adopted a neoliberal agenda and started integrating and deregulating markets around the globe. By the 1980s, they began implementing structural adjustment programs (SAPs) in developing countries. These programs were designed to make it more likely that debtor nations would be able to repay their loans.” I find this very interesting how they give the loand out then later in time they helped these countries by implementing the SAP so they can continue to develop.
2. Globalization is helping cultures spread across the eath and make connections all over the earth. “In Geertz’s framework, culture provides unity and regularity to a society, allowing people to frame their thoughts and experiences in intelligible ways and to communicate with one another. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) describes culture as “the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group.” By making these connections people all around the earth are being more educated outside of their norms.
3. As people become more educated about other colutures these cultures begin to spread around the planet. “Cultural cross-fertilizations have always occurred, and they do change cultures, sometimes in small ways and other times in larger ways. However, these exchanges do not necessarily turn less powerful cultures into replicas of a dominant culture. Legrain argues that “new hybrid cultures are emerging, and regional ones reemerging” that are producing both greater singularity and diversity within societies.” As these hybrid cultures spread our cultures start to change even within our lifetimes by small changes that slowly grow.
Chapter 2 Thesis
Former European collines are having problems with literacy and sovereignty while nation-states are using them to flourish.
Evidence
1.After the 30-year war European states stated to no reconzie states that were not “Europeanized” by the conization. “It is worth observing that it was not long after European states embraced the concept of sovereignty that they launched into empire building in other parts of the world, where they refused to recognize the sovereignty of non-European political entities.” By not being sovern with Europe thees countries began to fall further and further behind.
2. As Europe made more and more colnies they felt that they had to make the people there more like them rather than trying to learn from them. “Europeans perceived the indigenous peoples who inhabited the areas they conquered as primitive, childlike, and in need of European guidance to become “civilized.””. These people who have already live on the land had the knowledge that the Europeans did not have to survive on the land.
3. Literacy is a huge way that cultures grow and evolve. Cultures around the world have higher literacy rates tend to be more first world countries. An example of this is “ For more than 900 years, the Church wielded tremendous power over Europe, coronating and exerting control over kings, directly ruling over some territories, levying taxes, and amassing great wealth. In short, the Church established an empire, which has since been called the Holy Roman Empire, that included almost all of central Europe.” the church was the group of people that were literate and led them to have the power over Europe.
Chapter 1 Thesis:
ReplyDeleteGlobalization has become a part of our world and has its effects on the world, which are good or bad, depending on your viewpoint.
Evidence:
1. The views on free trade are split, with some thinking it brings the world together, and others thinking it is marginalizing it even more. Some believe that “eliminating trade barriers increases global wealth, consumer choice, and international security and peace” (Campbell, 13), while others believe that free trade “allows developed nations to exploit developing countries, destroying local industry…(Campbell, 13).
2. While some nation-states have problems with minorities, multiculturalism is a policy many have. Since “the forces of globalization have led to a growth in human mobility, making it easier for people to migrate around the world (Campbell 16), populations are altering globally, making nation-states decide on their stance on minorities and migration.
3. Because of globalization, homogeneity is occurring, and there are mixed feelings towards it: “While some Westerners may view the spread of Western culture and values as natural, inevitable, and positive, other people see it as a threat to cultures around the world” (Campbell 19). As America is a leading superpower, its culture is becoming integrated into the cultures of other countries, sometimes being altered to fit the native culture, other times overshadowing the native culture.
Chapter 2 Thesis:
ReplyDeleteBecause of colonialism, the nation-state system has spread globally, but has also created several problems to the countries colonized that still exist today.
Evidence:
1. Since colonies were created to gain exotic resources, the economies are often skewed: “many colonized lands were turned into mono-crop, export-driven economies” (Campbell 37). This makes it hard for these former colonies, as their economies were altered to not be self-sufficient, such as farming, but rather to rely on trading a specific resource to a bigger nation-state.
2. Because of the way nation-states’ borders were decided, groups were split and put into contact with opposing groups and caused some conflict between them. A large contribution to this is ethno-nationalism, “a belief that only ancestry gives one the right to belong to a particular group (Campbell 39), which creates conflict between the majority of the nation-state and the minorities.
3. External forces are also a source of problems for poor nation-states, such as NGOs trying to help the poorer nation-states by providing aid but can cause problems by doing so: “When citizens transfer their expectations for basic services from nation-states to NGOs, they also often begin to question the purpose and legitimacy of their governments… (Campbell 41). By providing outside help, the nation-state’s citizens can switch their loyalty away from their governments, causing rebelling, making it harder for the nation-state to become self-reliant.
Chapter 3 Thesis:
ReplyDeleteThe idea behind IGOs and NGOs is to promote global unity, but they have their issues which hinder progress.
Evidence:
1. The League of Nations, while able to solve some issues, couldn’t react to issues dealing with larger nation-states: “Neither France nor Britain, both powerful members of the League, was willing to apply sanctions to Japan… (Campbell 56). Because they didn’t react well to these larger issues, the League of Nations is often considered a failure, but it did set the groundwork for the creation of the UN.
2. The UNSC is responsible for keeping peace world-wide, but due to the ability of any of the permanent members being able to veto actions, they can struggle to act. A good example of this is during the Cold War, “the Soviet Union and the US often took turns vetoing actions that each perceived as favorable to the other. For many years, this worked to limit the effectiveness of the organization” (Campbell, 59). This has made the vetoing power a topic of controversy, as a single nation-state can overrule the majority.
3. Since each NGO has its own agenda and beliefs of what issues have a higher priority and require more immediate attention, they can often get in the way of each other and hinder overall progress to achieve their goals, as said in the text, “Because competition for resources is intense, NGOs do not always work well together, even when they share common causes” (Campbell, 79). This doesn’t help the skepticism around the idea of NGOs, making them seem ineffective and a waste of resources.
Question:
Is there any way to make IGOs and NGOs more effective at solving global issues?
Excellent week #2 reflections here, HR team!
ReplyDeleteAll posts below this line = C/LATE.
Dr. Rob
Chapter One
ReplyDeleteThesis: As the world continues to change (specifically technological) the impact of globalization on various aspects of civilization are more apparent such as its effects on political and economic grounds.
1. “The Internet, email, blogs, RSS feeds, satellites, cell phones, webcams, and various electronic handheld devices allow human beings all over the world to connect with each other instantaneously, breaking down the barriers of time and space that have individuals and communities from each other in the past.” (Campbell, 2). As technology continues to evolve and connect communities through great distances we see the perspectives of all involved blend together as we find commonalities and differences.
2. Along with this, however, we find individuals as well as communities fight and argue due to these differences in culture and ingrained societal traditions; this is another byproduct of this great connectedness between societies. Campbell accepts the claim that we… “make connections between these different perspectives” (Campbell, 3) as a result of globalization. It’s interesting throughout the piece that those of multiple perspectives try to understand and study that exact relationship.
3. The relationship between technology and globalization is an undeniable fact.. “globalization processes have accelerated dramatically since the 1980s.”(Campbell, 10)” Campbell states referring to the opinions of many scholars.. The creation and rapid growth of the internet and networks between communities began around the mid to late 1980s (at least when it became commercially available to the public). Even before this time universities and major institutions were communicating with one another at a rate that was never before even imagined.
Chapter Two
ReplyDeleteThesis: Within this system there has been harm casted upon smaller countries that some have chosen to ignore and other not given the correct education to understand these detriments.
1. Campbell explains the harms of colonization as““one territorial sovereign exerting control and sovereignty over another land by usurping control from local leaders, thereby destroying indigenous culture, economies, and political structures.” (Campbell, 36). This is a major reason in which smaller countries which were already at a point of struggle were then taken advantage of and put in a considerably worse place.
2. Referring back to our first chapters, the idea of different perspectives and cultures play a part in how these smaller communities have been taken advantage of and somewhat why. “Religious, ethnic, linguistic, regional, and socioeconomic differences within a country are not always diverse, but they can lead to conflict.” (Campbell, 38). We see this in the United States all the time, we as a whole don’t always have a single dominant opinion depending on the matter, so we get in internal conflict. We as a human race have internal conflicts every day, as the community is filled with differing opinions, cultures, and perspectives that drastically change one’s thought-process. When one’s community is considerably smaller, less advanced, and has less ties to strong allies, it’s easy to be bullied by a larger community, this is the idea behind colonization.
3. Furthering this concept of colonization, the idea that “Europeans perceived the indigenous peoples who inhabited the areas they conquered as primitive, childlike…” (Campbell 38) was a great cause to why colonization was started. The smaller communities were pushed around in hopes to make them more “civilized” and were considerably taken advantage of and not trusted. This ultimately led to an even further struggle for these bullied communities.
Chapter Three
ReplyDeleteThesis: The many IGOs located within the world are a necessary system to assist in the development of various factors on a global scale.
1. IGOs have been given a direction to allow globalization to prosper and subdue conflict among the worlds communities. Campbell puts it as to “maintain peace and foster prosperity” (Campbell, 54). There is much history of failed IGOs (such as the League of Nations) but even these IGOs had their own successes such as The Greek incursion into Bulgarian territory.
2. Something that stood out to me and I wanted to talk about were the ways in which some of these IGOs try to keep the peace and keep communities/nations from tearing each other apart. The primary way in which this happens is through peacekeeping, whereas “soldiers from nation-states not involved in a conflict are introduced into a conflict area to act as a buffer between conflicting forces, to maintain a ceasefire, or simply to maintain order.” (Campbell 64). This is extremely important since it talks individuals from other areas not involved and uses them effectively to take the heat away from the conflict and give a sense of humanity to the area.
3. Interestingly enough, however, even though many of their goals are similar, many of these organizations have issues with one another. This occurs for many reasons as each have different perspectives on conflict similarly to that of the communities they’re attempting to assist. Because this is the case, there are some situations in which conflict may go without assistance for a period of time sadly due to the politics between these organizations (Campbell 79).
Is there a way or even the possibility that total globalization can take place? If so, how should we go about achieving that goal and what’s our first step?
ReplyDelete1) THESIS: IYOW, post a single sentence that captures the thesis for EACH CHAPTER of our reading.
Chapter 2- Our international system has evolved immensely throughout time. It took awhile to establish a solid system called the Nation-states but after a long time of trial and error we created a well working system to support countries. Although Nation-states is a function system there are still challenges they face as do all systems. Colonialism has greatly affected countries and still currently do today
Chapter 3- IOs have started to grow with a powerful force since World War II. Politics, cultural, social and economic roles are into play when dealing with IOs.
2) EVIDENCE: Post and number THREE specific observations from EACH CHAPTER of our reading(s) that supports your thesis.
Chapter 2-
“The current nation-state system has its roots in seventeenth-century Europe. Prior to its emergence, the feudal system and the Catholic Church dominated European political life. Local barons ruled over inherited lands, or fiefdoms, and assumed the powers we typically associate with governments.” (Campbell, 33)
“This is no coincidence, as many of their struggles are rooted in the history of colonialism. Invariably, contact with outsiders changes a society; the longer and broader the contact, the greater the impact.” (Campbell, 36)
“The expansion of literacy was also a key component in the rise of the nation- state system, making possible written contracts, currency, the transference of ideals, norms of behavior, and laws that, once recorded, became easier to pass from one generation to another. Literacy also made the development and growth of universities, science, and educated bureaucrats possible, which in turn allowed for continuity of governments and organized scientific inquiry.” (Campbell, 33)
Chapter 3-
“After World War II, the international community again set up an IGO designed to prevent conflict. The United Nations, or UN, founded in 1945 and headquartered in New York City, became the successor to the League.” (Campbell, 57)
“IGOs emerged relatively recently in the international area. In 1900, for example, there were only a few dozen; by 2008, that number had increased to more than 300 formal IGOs. Like nation-states, IGOs have their roots in Europe.” (Campbell, 52)
“While the nation-state continues to be the prominent actor in the international arena, international organizations such as IGOs and NGOs are playing an increas- ingly important role.” (Campbell, 82)
3) QUESTION: What can we do to help/final goal? How to strictly follow it when it’s not being followed globally?
Ch. 1 thesis: Globalization is the theory that everything occurring in the world has been put into a bigger perspective because of the internet; allowing people to gain perspective and raising the bar for world understanding, but this can also create issues.
ReplyDeleteChapter 1 evidence:
1. “Cosmopolitanism: the belief that all humans are connected and belong to one humanity”. This is the theory that being human transcends states and countries, and that people should communicate and work together in the world human to human, not country to country. April Carter says that this differs from humanitarianism because cosmopolitanism stresses respecting the dignity of the person receiving aid or being advocated for, instead of just “charity”. (pg. 25)
2. Samuel Huntington describes that in the future, as the world becomes more and more connected, clashes over culture will become more “important” than economic or political issues. This is because of the strength of the bond we have with our origins and cultures, much more so than nationality or economics or political ideologies.
3. On pg. 4, it discusses how the word globalization has technically been around since the 1960s, but didn’t really enter the American academic lexicon until about the 1980s, then became commonplace in the 1990s, right in line with the advent of the internet.
Chapter 1 question:
What is the next step for globalization? Will virtual reality or even brain transmission eventually revolutionize globalization and humanity itself?
Ch. 2 thesis: Colonization is the main reason for the modern nation-state system, which also causes a lot of modern nation-state issues, and some major threats to modern-day nation-states include terrorists, organized crime, and multinational corporations.
Chapter 2 evidence:
1. Colonialism was a “brutal enterprise”, and because of how Europeans viewed indigenous peoples as “primitive, childlike, and in need of European guidance. King Leopold of Belgium ran rubber farms in the Congo, which treated the local people brutally for maximum efficiency (pg. 36)
2. Because of illogical borders that split up groups of indigenous peoples, this lead to unstable governments and social conflicts, some of which are still going on today (pg. 37). Additionally, Neo-colonialism is the phenomenon of powerful states “meddling in the domestic affairs of less powerful ones” (pg. 38), a great example being the proxy wars played out during the cold war.
3. Sometimes, nations use the excuse of terrorism to commit crimes against their own people in the name of the nation, but this is a cop-out and is not an example of a country doing best by the country itself, aka its own people. “Argentina disappeared more than 9,000 of its citizens during its dirty war (1976-83) […] The state argued their actions were done to protect the state from “dangerous” elements”. The actions themselves were acts of terrorism against the nation itself.
Chapter 2 question:
Will there ever be a world without nation-states? Maybe some type of hybrid, like every country in the EU assimilating and becoming one big conglomerate, or will this be too cumbersome?
Chapter 3 thesis:
ReplyDeleteIGOs (Inter-Governmental Organizations), consisting of 3 or more nation-states that have created a treaty establishing the organization, and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) which are groups founded mostly for moral purposes, serve all kinds of purposes all around the world, named examples being the EU, UN, NATO, and Greenpeace being a few, and they are a more official way to serve specific purposes to benefit the world politically, legislatively, economically, and morally.
Chapter 3 evidence:
1. In 1831, the Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine was established to coordinate between the countries that use the river for commerce and transportation. Because of the success of the organization, this sprung up other IGOs, like postal unions and telegraphs (pg. 52).
2. IGOs serve all kinds of purposes. The League of Nations was designed to maintain peace. One could say they failed at this purpose, because 19 years after the founding, World War II broke out (pg. 55). Better examples of successful IGOs includes NATO, founded after WWII as a defense organization between the U.S. and Western European allies. This was different from past and future defense organizations because instead of preventing conflict, it was a defense pact that if any country in NATO were attacked, it would be an attack on all of NATO (pg. 70)
3. NGOs do not have nearly the kind of power that IGO’s have. “Gathering and disseminating information are far more common NGO activities. The idea is that change has a better chance of occurring if people know what’s going on.” The internet has been a godsend for NGO’s like Greenpeace trying to spread messages of environmental advocation.
Chapter 3 question:
Do IGO’s incumber the flexibility and power of countries, or do they help give authority and purpose to specific goals of these countries?
Chapter 1
ReplyDeleteGlobal studies have emerged and changed over time.
“We are growing more accustomed to viewing issues, activities, process, ideas, problems, and solutions in global rather than solely local or national terms.(Campbell, 2)
“Today, global studies is establishing itself as an academic field of study in its own right, with institutions, associations, academic conferences, and degree- granting programs emerging around the world with increasing frequency since the 1990s.”(Campbell, 3)
“Some believe that globalization is intrinsically good, others believe it is inherently bad, and still others assert that while is is intrinsically neither good nor bad, it can have both positive and negative effects”(Campbell, 4) It depends on one's mind and it which way they think it through. As the author mentions, some people view globalization as a new phenomenon driven primarily by new technologies, such as cell phones, satellites and the internet. Also the author mentions others may view it as an extension of ongoing process that encompasses all human history.
What is your own definition of globalization? I ask this question because we all have different interpolation to what it means.
Chapter 2
ReplyDeleteNation-state and the structure of our human societies and the struggles.
“The majority of states that are struggling in the current global nation-state system are former European colonies. This is no coincidence, as many of their struggles are rooted in the history of colonialism.”(Campbell,36) Also the more contact from outsiders the more changers to the better will happen. There was much struggle to the Europeans, they perceived the indigenous people, who inhabited the areas they conquered as primitive, childlike, and in the need of European guidance to become civilized.
“Neo- colonialism is another factor contributing to the struggles of former colonies to establish themselves as successful independent states. Neo- colonialism refers to the involvement of more powerful states domestic affairs or less powerful ones.”(Campbell, 38)An example of this is During the Cold War, between the US and its Wetern European allies and the Soviet Union and its allies intervened in many of these countries that are newly independent in an attempt to secure their allegiance.
“Leaders used their positions in government to make themselves and their cronies rich rather than appropriately manage their state.”(Campbell, 23-24) This is something that is expected from many leaders, they basically take the money for themselves. Many countries till now suffer from this. I can relate this to my country, Iraq. Leaders are taking charge of the money, and the country is lacking many things to improve for the better.
If these leaders were now leading our country, will it be as successful?
ReplyDeleteChapter 3
The development of the United Nations, and the social and cultural roles.
“IGOs, (Intergovernmental organization) typically have a deliberative body, which discuss policy, an executive organ, which makes policy decision.”(Campbell, 52) It’s basically an agreement that acts as a charter creating the group. Examples include the United Nations, the World Bank, or the European Union.
“International Labour Organization (ILO) was founded in 1919, this specialized agencies of the UN works to promote decent working conditions across the globe.”(Campbell, 56) This was the first agency of the UN, it's there to advance social justice.
“The UN has three budgets that it draws upon to run its various programs and agencies: the regular budget, the peacekeeping budget, and the voluntary contributions budget.”(Campbell, 62) Each country's assignment will be based on the factors which is the national income, level of debt and also the population. All these factors will determine who will contribute more to the nation.
Has the UN ever been in debt?
Chapter 1 Thesis:
ReplyDeleteGlobalization is a part of the world and has effects on all parts of the world, which can good or bad.
Evidence:
1. The free trade brings the world together and can end up helping all people in it. Some believe that “eliminating trade barriers increases global wealth, consumer choice, and international security and peace” (Campbell, 13) These gains would allow the growth of many nations and the betterment to standard of livings.
2. Globalization also effects the politics of the world because it changes the way people think and how we interact with other groups. “In today’s nation-state system, global migration and the presence of ethnic minorities disrupt the implied unity of the nation-state. In the absence of common descent, language, and ethnic identity, nation-states often try to create cultural uniformity via national language policies and compulsory education with a uniform curriculum.” (Campbell, 16) with groups being harder to define it makes us look deeper into how to make laws/how to find the “other” when trying to see the opposition in a globalized world.
3. A side effect of globalization is the hybridization of cultures, specifically western influence. Campbell states that “Clearly, scholars take different positions regarding the effects and forces of cultural globalization.”(Campbell, 21). Hybridization is seen as a necessary casualty for the benefits of globalization. In short, we accept that our cultures or practices must change or be changed for the sake of someone’s definition of progress.
Chapter 2 Thesis:
ReplyDeleteThe nation-state system has spread globally, but it several challenges.
Evidence:
1. One of the largest threats to the nation-state is NGOs. “NGOs are organizations made up of private individuals from any number of nation-states”(Campbell, 41) NGOs are nearly limitless in number and are hard to control. They often are a strong source of revenue to a nation-state but if limited to much can often choose to leave or move offices and factories to another location as they are not tied to any sing space or border.
2. Nation-state also in years of globalization louse “their supremacy as actors in the international arena [by] being challenged by a variety of non-state actors, including international governmental organizations (IGO).” (Campbell, 40) These IGOs are things like the WTO or the ICC who limit/control actions of various nations and their interaction with the rest of the world whether that be with trade regulation or the handling of criminal judgment and sentencing. IGOs are a continuous overseer of smaller and to a lesser degree larger notation.
3. “the term “nation-state” suggests a homogenous culture living within a geopolitical border, the reality is that both the presence of ethnic minorities and increasing global migration flows disrupt the implied unity” (Campbell, 38) As we grow more into a globalized world we see every day how classes of culture weaken the idea of the nation-state. One big example is how Bashing and its English colonial past has created conflict with integration into the mine body China.
Chapter 3 Thesis:
ReplyDeleteNation-states are still the most prominent actor on the world stage IOs are becoming increasingly important.
Evidence:
1. These IOs can do good and bad for our world in many ways such as the League of Arab States or the LAS. “The League began with seven member states: Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Transjordan (Jordan from 1946), and Yemen. The primary issues of the day were freeing Arab countries under colonial rule and preventing the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.”( Campbell 74). This example shows just how strong the power of small Nations states can become when the form an IGO. The effect of this post WWII IGO can still be seen in the treatment of the religion and the life stile in the region.
2. We also find IOs hands in trade down to specific product/production regulation. “the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) created in 1960 [for the puros] to regulate the oil supply and help stabilize prices.”(Campbell 75) IGOs like this make it hard for countries discovering oil to profit on their own and thus must submit to the regulation/control of OPEC. It is good though for the life of every day people as it provides stability to the price of petroleum based products like gas and plastics.
3. Along with the IGOs are NGOs whose work changes the world wether it be their goal or not. One of the more positive NGOs. “Amnesty International, perhaps the most well-known international human rights NGO, undertakes research and action aimed at preventing and ending abuses of the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (Campbell 76) NGOs like the form allow for the money of average people who may have little primary control of how there nation spends their taxes, to directly invest in causes they care about. Other NGOs run more like companies and use multiple nations to produces and run cooperation’s
question: Should NGOs have some kind of UN for self regulation
ReplyDelete