Globalisation in Sociology

Can you imagine not having access to food from other countries? Or being restricted to purchasing domestic goods and services? Or having no international help if you've been hit by a natural disaster?

Fortunately, these aren't issues in the modern, global world - thanks to globalisation.

Globalisation is a concept that links to every other topic that you will study because it is interdisciplinary. It has cultural, political, and economic aspects. These are all interlinked, although the cultural aspects are most relevant to sociology.

• We will look at globalisation in sociology.
• We will start by looking at the definition of globalisation in sociology.
• Next, we will look at the characteristics of globalisation in sociology.

• We'll look at some theories of globalisation.

• Lastly, we will consider the impacts and types of globalisation.

Let's begin!

Definition of globalisation in sociology

Globalisation in sociology is a term that describes the interconnection of the world in terms of time and space. It has been made possible, among other things, by the spread of free-market capitalism.

Globalisation became a popular idea towards the end of the 20th century, due to advances in travel, communication, and technology - the world became more connected. It became more clear that many problems are global in scale and must be tackled by everyone on the planet, together.

It is very difficult to know when globalisation started, but some writers have suggested that it has already slowed or even halted in the 21st century. The global economic downturn since 2008 has affected international trade and stopped progress. Terrorism, climate change concerns, and the COVID pandemic have slowed down travel. The world is still failing to act as a singular agent; the UN is very far from being a global government.

In terms of cultural shifts, globalisation can look a lot like Westernisation or Americanisation. This is because most of the iconic global brands come from the USA, e.g., Coca-Cola, Disney, and Apple. Marxists are very critical of this spread of American consumer culture because they think it creates 'false needs'.

Characteristics of globalisation in sociology

We can see evidence of the factors that contributed to globalisation. This section will look at how it is expressed and the extent to which it has taken place.

The rise of technology as a feature of globalisation

Digital communication is now instant and people are much more directly plugged into the news from the outside world. Some people feel more 'cosmopolitan' as a result of this, though some find it too intrusive in their daily life.

Digital communication has eased the difficulties faced by geographical barriers and time zones. It enables people to stay in touch with relatives across the world and helps businesses control operations remotely. Time and space are less pressing issues in the modern world thanks to the rise of technology.

Cultural factors of globalisation

Sporting, music, and film events have brought people together from across the world. Global consumption patterns have also become increasingly similar, for example with shopping malls and online shopping. There is also a global risk consciousness, the feeling that we are all at threat from things like terrorism and climate change.

Some criticise globalisation for homogenising culture, but some point to the fact that cultural globalisation is two-way: Americanisation certainly exists, but there is also the influence of developing cultures in the Western world, for example, the influence of Bollywood, and the rising popularity of Asian fast-food outlets.

Economic factors of globalisation

• The post-industrial economy is now 'weightless', as many goods are now 'intangible', i.e., electronic, rather than tangible goods like clothes or cars.
• The role of transnational corporations (TNCs) is important as they produce goods in more than one country. In particular, they outsource their manufacturing to developing countries.
• Global commodity chains mean production is more efficient. The least profitable parts of the chain (e.g., manufacturing) are done in the poorer countries, and the more profitable parts (e.g., marketing) are done in richer countries.
• Companies are now much more likely to move around the world finding the cheapest labour.
• Speculators are a phenomenon of economic globalisation. Historically, the price of goods was directly related to the cost of production. Now, speculators buy and sell goods in huge quantities according to which way they think the market prices will go. This makes the changes in global prices even greater.

Political changes due to globalisation

• The end of the Cold War meant that ex-Communist democracies are now integrated into the global economy. This goes hand in hand with the growth of democracy and the decline of dictatorships.
• The growth of international governance structures, for example, the United Nations (UN).
• International non-governmental organisations, for example, OXFAM.
• Problems like climate change and the refugee crisis are too great for single countries to handle, leading to collaboration between countries.

It is ironic that political globalisation is coinciding with political localisation; many states are conceding power to a local level. This is called devolution.

Held and McGrew (2007) question whether the post-9/11 'War on Terror' denotes the end of political globalisation because countries are suspicious of each other. Alternatively, it could mark the beginning of 'militarised globalisation'.

Theories of globalisation in sociology

Anthony McGrew (2000) holds that there are three theoretical perspectives of globalisation.

Neoliberal/positive globalists on globalisation

Neoliberal globalists are advocates of the free market. They believe that bringing the whole world into capitalism will create growth, and wealth will 'trickle down' to benefit the poorest people, which will eventually end poverty. They tend to see globalisation as a new and important development of our age that will transform social life.

As a consequence, nobody loses out in the globalisation process. They tend to see globalisation as the global spread of capitalism and encourage entrepreneurialism.

One such supporter of neoliberalism is Thomas Friedman, who argues that neoliberal policies have made international trading easier. It helps in these ways:

• Free movement of goods and resources.
• More jobs.
• Access to cheaper goods.
• Financial growth and increased wealth across the planet.

According to Friedman, organisations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and World Trade Organisation (WTO) have played instrumental roles to bring about globalisation.

This is the Marxist view of globalisation. Negative globalists take a more radical view; they see the globalisation of capitalism as only spreading inequality and leading to the polarisation of countries (the rich get richer and the poor get poorer). They think the expansion of capitalism will lead to the greater exploitation of people and the greater degradation of the environment. The spread of consumerism will lead to homogenisation and wipe out traditional values and traditions; this is called 'cultural imperialism'.

Immanuel Wallerstein, a Marxist, described the global system as being in a constant state of evolution searching for profits. He observed that development can be two-way; a core country (e.g., Great Britain) could one day decline and become a semi-periphery country. Similarly, a periphery country could develop and become a semi-periphery country (like the Asian Tiger countries have).

Transformationalists on globalisation

They see globalisation as important, but that it is exaggerated. They believe individual nations remain politically, economically, and militarily autonomous, despite globalisation. They see it as a juggernaut; we can steer it in any direction we choose. It can end, slow down, or even go in reverse.

They reject the Marxist criticism that globalisation creates a homogeneous, Western culture, and instead point to the innovative and exciting hybrid of cultures that we see today.

Internationalists on globalisation

Internationalists are sceptical about globalisation. Though they admit there is a global flow of goods, money, and people, they say it is no more significant than it has been in the past. They see an imbalance in global power relations, with the powerful states acting solely in their interests. Most trade is regional, like trade within the European Union, or North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Types of identity in a globalised world

Manuel Castelis proposes three kinds of collective identity that exist in the globalised world.

• Legitimate identities, for example, citizenship. This is given by states and excludes non-citizens.
• Resistance identities, where marginalised groups reject their stigmatisation.
• Project identities, where alternative identities are constructed - e.g., the 'green' identity of environmentalism.

What is the impact of globalisation in sociology?

Consider the pros and cons of globalisation below.

Glocalisation as an impact of globalisation

Roland Robertson coined the term 'glocalisation' in 1992, which refers to the hybridisation of global with local cultures or goods. This is a complex part of globalisation because there is a homogeneous universal culture, but with heterogeneous aspects that change from place to place.

The erosion of tradition as an impact of globalisation

In many countries, people want to retain their traditional culture and identity, and they resist the introduction of Western culture and the English language. This is particularly noticeable in the Middle East and parts of Africa. Here, rejections of Western influence have been accompanied by assertions of Islamic identity. People also develop collective identities that exist in resistance to globalisation. In Scotland, for example, theorists say British identity is waning.

Types of globalisation in sociology

Let's consider the three types of globalisation in sociology:

• Economic globalisation
• Cultural globalisation
• Political globalisation

Economic globalisation in sociology

As a result of economic globalisation, state economies depend on each other to provide technology and resources.

Cultural globalisation in sociology

Globalisation has had a significant impact on intermixing of cultures. There is increased sensitivity and understanding of different countries, languages, beliefs and religions.

Examples of cultural intermixing include:

• Media and entertainment that is globally known, e.g. the Harry Potter franchise
• The sharing of different cultures, e.g. the rise of K-pop in the West

Political globalisation in sociology

Further examples of such bodies include the League of Nations, World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the European Union (EU). These help to foster international relations and prevent conflict between states.

The next section will look at globalisation in relation to some other topics in sociology that you have studied.

Globalisation in education: sociology

From the perspective of globalisation in education, we can understand the British education system in a global context. We can compare our teaching methods to those of other countries which can be quite different, for example China.

Interesting comparisons include the ages that children start and end their schooling, the focus on testing and exams, privatisation, the status of vocational education, etc.

Though there has been much progress in education, it is important to understand that many children in other, less economically developed countries are still not in school or are in inadequate education. There has also been a backlash against the imposition of Western-style schooling in some countries. The schooling of girls in Afghanistan has been resisted by the Taliban, for example.

The following sections cover further sociological topics in the context of globalisation.

Families, households and globalisation

The norm for British families, the nuclear family, is not the norm elsewhere. Things like monogamous or polygamous marriages are big cultural differences.

Awareness of demographic trends is also important. For example, the immigration of working adults has contributed to a rise in the birth rate, and also the UK population is set to continue growing, whereas it will slow or stop elsewhere.

The ageing population is uniquely Western and interesting to compare to counterexamples e.g., in Africa. Migration has also been feminised, with many women from poorer countries working in low-paid jobs in the West, such as childcare and domestic work.

Culture, identity and globalisation

Social media has allowed for an enormous amount of culture and cultural trends to be shared among young people especially. Due to migration and marriages, many people have hybrid identities, and some have transnational identities (the identity obtained from moving around a lot and never settling into one place).

Globalised health

We now have a global health industry because we share lots of knowledge and resources between countries. The UK's National Health Service has always relied heavily on doctors and nurses from other countries.

If we look at the Ebola outbreak of 2014, we can see how vital the global health industry is. The three countries that suffered (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) wouldn't have managed the outbreak without the help of the World Health Organisation (WHO), other countries, and non-profit organisations (Médecins Sans Frontières, among others).

There is a downside, however, in transnational pharmaceutical companies. These have been alleged to have invented illnesses just to sell drugs that 'treat' them.

Work, poverty, welfare and globalisation

Globally, wealth and income inequality have increased recently. Marxists would say this is due to transnational companies moving to poorer countries and forcing the local industries to undercut each other.

Work has been affected by the new internal division of labour in countries (due to migration) and also by some industries changing countries to go where costs are lower. The experience of work has also changed due to greater standardisation and surveillance. George Ritzer calls this 'McDonaldisation'.