Final Draft Learning Module in The Contemporary World
Final Draft Learning Module in The Contemporary World
Learning Module
in
The Contemporary World
Prepared by:
JENNY MEI S. PEROY
The compiler does not own any of the contents of this learning module. Due credits and
acknowledgment are given to the authors, internet sources, and researchers listed on the
reference page. Such sources are reserved to further explain concepts and cannot be credited to
the compiler and the school. All diagrams, charts, and images are used for educational purposes
only. The sole objective of this instructional material is to facilitate independent learning and not
for monetary gains because this is NOT FOR SALE.
2020 Edition
Republic of the Philippines
OCCIDENTAL MINDORO STATE COLLEGE
Labangan, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro
website: www.omsc.edu.ph email address: [email protected]
Tele/Fax: (043) 457-0231 CERTIFIED TO ISO 9001:2015
CERT. NO.: 50500643 QM15
APPROVAL SHEET
This Instructional Material entitled LEARNING MODULE IN THE
CONTEMPORARY WORLD, compiled by JENNY MEI S. PEROY (A.Y. 2020-
2021), is recommended for production and utilization by the students and faculty
members of Occidental Mindoro State College.
PANEL OF EVALUATORS
Recommending Approval:
Approved:
APPROVAL SHEET
This Instructional Material entitled LEARNING MODULE IN THE
CONTEMPORARY WORLD, compiled by JENNY MEI S. PEROY (A.Y. 2020-
2021), is recommended for production and utilization by the students and faculty
members of Occidental Mindoro State College.
PANEL OF EVALUATORS
Local Evaluation Committee
The Contemporary World
Recommending Approval:
Approved:
OMSC VISION
A premier higher education institution that develops locally responsive, globally competitive, and innovative professionals.
OMSC MISSION
The OMSC exists to produce intellectual and human capital by developing excellent graduates, through outcomes-based instruction, relevant research, responsive technical advisory services, and sustainable
production.
Internalize the Vision, Mission, Vision, Mission and Core Values Manual
and Core Values Handbook
Retrieval date of
requirements: October
30, 2020
9 MIDTERM EXAM
Analyze how various media A World of Ideas Lule, J. (2014). “Globalization and Lecture/ discussion using Smart TV Reading notes
drive various forms of global. Global Media Cultures Media: Creating the Global Village”. computer-assisted Laptop Comic strip illustrating
The Globalization of Religion In The SAGE Handbook of instruction/ G Suite for Reading materials their experience with
10-11 Explain the dynamic between Globalization. SAGE Publications Education Digital Materials global media cultures
local and global cultural Ltd., pp. 660-677 [e-copy Module Reaction video on the
production. pagination] Module G Suite for film, “The Rise of ISIS”
Education
Reference No.: OMSC-COL-13 Effectivity date: November 20, 2018 Revision No. 01
Explain how globalization Roudometof, V. (2014). “Religion Film showing and Retrieval date of
affects religious practices and and Globalization”. In The SAGE analysis: PBS Frontline: requirements: October
beliefs. Handbook of Globalization. SAGE “The Rise of ISIS” 30, 2020
Analyze the relationship Publications Ltd., pp. 881-898 [e-
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh
between religion and global copy pagination]
conflict and, conversely, global /frontline/film/rise-of-isis)
peace.
Identify the attributes of a global Global Population and Mobility Colic-Peisker, V. (2014). “Mobility, Lecture/ discussion using Smart TV Reading notes
city. Analyze how cities serve The Global City Diversity, and Community in the computer-assisted Laptop Collage of the global
as engines of globalization. Global Demography Global City”. In The SAGE instruction/ G Suite for Reading materials city—postcard from the
Global Migration Handbook of Globalization. SAGE Education Digital Materials global city
Explain the theory of Publications Ltd., pp. 588-606 [e- Module Short research paper on
demographic transition as it copy pagination] Module G Suite for demographics:
affects the global population. OFW interview: Each Education Characterizing
Lee, R. (2003). “The Demographic student will be asked to Philippine
Analyze the political, economic, Transition: Three Centuries of interview a former or a demographics: Has the
12-14 cultural, and social factors Fundamental Change.” Journal of current OFW (face-to- Philippines undergone
underlying the global Economic Perspectives 17(4): 167– face or online). In an the demographic
movements of people. Display 190. transition? Why or why
essay, they will share
first-hand knowledge of the not?
experiences of OFWs. what they learned from
these interviews about Retrieval date of
transnationalism and the requirements: November
factors that affect global 27, 2020
migrations.
Differentiate stability from Towards a Sustainable World Plóciennik, S. (2014). “Sustainable Lecture/ discussion using Smart TV Reading notes
sustainability. Sustainable Development Economic System”. In The SAGE computer-assisted Laptop DIY: Forwarding
Global Food Security Handbook of Globalization. SAGE instruction/ G Suite for Digital Materials Sustainability (living a
Articulate models of global Publications Ltd., pp. 159-176 [e- Module sustainable lifestyle)
Education
sustainable development. copy pagination] G Suite for Slogan-making on
Module Education global food security
15-16
Define global food security. Barthwal-Datta, M. (2014). “Global
Food Security: The Challenge of Retrieval date of
Critique existing models of Feeding the World”. In The SAGE requirements: December
global food security. Handbook of Globalization. SAGE 11, 2020
Publications Ltd., pp. 121-140 [e-
copy pagination]
Articulate a personal definition Global Citizenship Carter, A. (2001). “Global Civil Lecture/ discussion using Smart TV Reading notes
17-18 of global citizenship. Society: Acting as Global Citizens”. computer-assisted Laptop Thinkpiece: Becoming
In The Political Theory of Global Digital Materials an ethical global citizen
Reference No.: OMSC-COL-13 Effectivity date: November 20, 2018 Revision No. 01
Appreciate the ethical Citizenship. Routledge, pp. 77-98 [e- instruction/ G Suite for Module Project: Anatomy of a
obligations of global citizenship. copy pagination] Education G Suite for global citizen
Module Education
Personal concept map of Retrieval date of
requirements: December
global citizenship:
11, 2020
Students will engage in a
free association exercise
of ideas they associate
with “global citizenship.”
Based on this, they will
synthesize a personal
definition of the concept.
Afterward, they will list
the obligations of a global
citizen.
SUGGESTED LEARNING RESOURCES:
Steger, M. B., Battersby, P., and Siracusa, J. M., eds. (2014). The SAGE Handbook of Globalization . Two Volumes. SAGE Publication.
Wallerstein, I. (2004). “The Modern World-System as a Capitalist World Economy: Production, Surplus-Value, and Polarization.” In World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction. Duke University Press, pp. 23-41.
Bello, W. F. (2006). “The Multiple Crises of Global Capitalism.” In Deglobalization: Ideas for a New World Economy. Ateneo de Manila University Press, pp. 1-31.
Lee, R. (2003). “The Demographic Transition: Three Centuries of Fundamental Change.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 17(4): 167–190.
Carter, A. (2001). “Global Civil Society: Acting as Global Citizens” in The Political Theory of Global Citizenship . Routledge, pp. 147-176.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS Reading notes
Quizzes
Thinkpiece/Research papers/Critical Papers
Exams (midterm, finals)
Class Standing 40%
Exams 40%
Project 10%
GRADING SYSTEM Discipline 10%
100%
Final Rating = Midterm Grade (40%) + Final Grade (60%)
Attendance
1. Students having seven (7) absences without valid reasons will be dropped from the class. Students are required to present admit to class slip from the Office
of Student Affairs and Services after being absent in the previous meeting.
COURSE POLICIES
2. Three (3), not necessarily consecutive, tardiness without further notice is equivalent to one (1) absence.
Incomplete Grade:
1. Students who were not able to take the midterm/final examinations will receive an incomplete grade.
Reference No.: OMSC-COL-13 Effectivity date: November 20, 2018 Revision No. 01
_____________________
Date
PREFACE
It is safe to say that we are now living in a more accessible, globally-
interconnected, and somehow, a borderless world. The contemporary world has been
shaped by a long history of change, by both rational and irrational human interventions,
developments and constant modifications, and by the need to transcend temporal and
spatial limitations. At the objective level, the world seems to go bigger, as one’s
knowledge of demographic diversity and geography increases. At the same time, it
appears to go smaller as people and places become more accessible and linked
together. Social, political, economic, and cultural linkages, among others, become more
present in the global context of human realities. The individual subjective reality
becomes more embedded in trans-, multi-, and/or pan-reality as people from different
geographic contexts become more connected, understood, and interacted more than
ever. Human social structures, institutions, and systems move past the national and/or
local levels to create global systems for the ever globalizing world.
References 91
TOPIC
1. Defining Globalization
LEARNING OUTCOMES
As rational human beings capable of transcending beyond our biology and nature,
we have shaped the way we live in the world with great feats of discovery, development,
and construction. Our objective realities are constructed in a way that the very society that
we have created becomes an entity that assumes a life of its own, capable of influencing
and even controlling one’s agency. In this society, we have created social structures,
institutions, and systems that help us organize our lives and help us make sense of our
phenomenology (day to day experiences). However, a single society with all its institutions,
structures, and systems is just an aspect of the world, although the world is pretty much full
of it and all about it. When we talk about studying the world, what aspect/s of it are we
trying to touch on? Are we focusing on human relations? World-systems? Institutions of
economy, politics, education, religion, family, media? All of these can come as abstractions,
yet all of these concepts are present in our objective and subjective realities. Why do we
need to understand these? What’s in it for us?
Claudio and Abinales (2018) posed the question “why do you need to study the
world?” to students in tertiary education. In their attempt to answer the question they
posed, the main thesis centers on the idea that students like you, whether you are
aware of it or not, are citizens of the world. They expounded on these by providing
points as to why the study of the world is relevant (Claudio & Abinales, 2018):
1
1. Cure parochialism. From close-mindedness to stretched imagination, outlook,
and concern. One’s concern is not only for their immediate context or
environment.
2. It can teach you more about yourself. With knowledge about other countries,
one can compare their society’s condition with that of other societies/countries.
This comparison may point out uniqueness and even similarities.
3. You are interacting with the world. As global citizens, being aware of what is
happening with the world is a given. With all the interconnectedness and
interdependence, the events happening outside us might bring a positive or
negative impact.
As the main concept in the study of the contemporary world vis-à-vis the
ontology (what it is to exist) as a citizen of the world, globalization is in itself a work-in-
progress concept. Academic circles are yet to come up with an encompassing definition
that is not limited to globalization in the contexts of economy and politics. As we
progress through the course, there are numerous definitions and/or conceptualizations
of globalization that will be discussed.
Rather than defining what globalization is, Manfred B. Steger (2013), described
the phenomenon as “the expansion and intensification of social relations and
consciousness across world-time and across world-space” (as cited in Claudio &
Abinales, 2018: 7-8).
2
GLOBALIZATION is the expansion and intensification of social relations and
consciousness across world-time and across world-space (Steger, 2013).
A breakdown of Steger’s (2013) description of globalization together with Claudio & Abinales’ (2018) elucidation.
3
Points forwarded in the multidimensional take of globalization as involving three processes: economic, political, and
cultural (Steger, 2014).
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
Confused with the conceptualization of globalization? You might want to check these
materials:
Globalization I – The Upside: Crash Course World History
#41 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SnR-e0S6Ic )
Globalization in 3 minutes, theory in 3 minutes
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6u9m5FK0IQ)
1. Ethnoscape. Flows of people. The movement of people for reasons such as work,
recreation, and/or due to displacement. The shift in populations made of
tourists, immigrants, refugees, and exiles. This is, in part, due to the ease and
cheaper travel costs to travel and borders of countries opening up to
accommodate and offer opportunities to people.
2. Technoscape. Flows of technology. Development and boom of technology that
facilitates cross-border connections and transactions. E.g. the internet,
information technology, and engineering.
4
3. Finanscape. Flows of money. The flow of global capital. International banking
and cash systems allow this to happen. E.g. credit card systems.
4. Mediascape. Flows of information. The production and dissemination of
information through electronic means. The access of people to modern popular
culture. E.g. access to international entertainment like Hollywood films, K-drama,
and anime; media such as newspapers, magazines, the social network.
5. Ideoscape. Flows of ideas. Ideologies of state, and social movements. E.g.
posting of your views on a certain event or human reality on Facebook; religious
missionaries spreading their doctrines to other regions or countries;
environmentalism.
MEDIASCAPE IDEOSCAPE
flows of information flows of ideas
Appadurai’s five ‘landscapes’ present the idea that there are multiple globalizations,
and this can help make sense the dynamics in globalization as a big process with all its
multidimensional sub-processes (Claudio & Abinales, 2018: 10). As Appadurai (1996) put
it, “[e]ach of these ‘scapes’ contains the building blocks of the new ‘imagined worlds’
that are assembled by the historically situated imaginations of persons and groups
spread around the globe” (as cited in Steger, 2014: 13).
TASK/ACTIVITY
PERSONAL CONCEPT MAP OF GLOBALIZATION:
This is a free association exercise of ideas. All you have to do is list all ideas you
associate with “globalization”. Based on the concepts you listed, synthesize your
personal definition of the globalization. Accomplish this activity in one whole
sheet of paper.
5
ASSESSMENT
In one whole sheet of paper, explain your answers clearly. Draw your answer
from your study and understanding of the material. 10 points each.
6
TOPICS
1. The Global Economy
2. Global Interstate System
3. Contemporary Global Governance
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The succeeding topics are best explored and discussed in view of Held et al.’s
(1999) description that globalization “may be thought of initially as the widening,
deepening and speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness in all aspects of
contemporary social life. In connection to this, for Giddens (1999), these “aspects” can
refer to political, cultural, and economic features (as cited in Beczes, 2014: 900). These
conceptualizations reinforce the view of globalization as a multidimensional process or
phenomenon as discussed in the descriptions Steger (2014) provided above.
For this lecture, the economic and political aspects of globalization will be
explored. The concepts, ideas, and perspectives should provide the students with ideas
on how academics and/or scholars of globalization, economics, political science, and
international studies, among others, confront the complex and multidimensional
process of globalization.
7
TOPIC 1: THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION
Economic globalization is defined as,
…a historical process, the result of human innovation and technological progress. It
refers to the increasing integration of economies around the world, particularly
through the movement of goods, services, and capital across borders. The term
sometimes also refers to the movement of people (labor) and knowledge (technology)
across international borders (IMF, 2008 as cited in Benczes, 2014: 900).
In this definition, it highlights the role played by the historic feats of human innovation
and the progress that materialized through it, especially in the fields of technology and
knowledge. The focus of these definitions, in relation to globalization, is the increasing
integration of economies and markets around the world. In this regard, economic
globalization has several interconnected dimensions:
1. The globalization of trade goods and services.
2. The globalization of financial and capital markets.
3. The globalization of technology and communication.
4. The globalization of production.
8
Transnational Corporations. Image from
https://sayaglobal.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/3/6/26367531/633
6134.jpg?414
is multidimensional, complex, and does not influence or affect nation-states in the same
way which makes it an uneven process as well. With this, a more substantive definition
of economic globalization is required.
The definition provided by IMF (2008) is juxtaposed with the definition provided
by Szentes (2003): “In economic terms globalization is nothing but a process making the
world economy an “organic system” by extending transnational economic processes and
economic relations to more and more countries and by deepening the economic
interdependencies among them” (as cited in Benczes, 2014: 901). Benczes (2014) notes
that this definition claims that only in a global context (i.e. an integrated world
economy) can economic activities and processes can be interpreted.
The role of the nation-state is redefined as a factor and an actor in this arena of
economic activities and processes. In the wake of the global market, nation-states ceased
to exist as primary economic organization units as people consume highly standardized
products and services produced by global corporations (Benczes, 2014: 901). In the height
of the global market system, the national economy has been transformed by globalization
into a global one in that “there will be no national products or technologies, no national
corporations, no national industries” (Reich, 1991 as cited in Benczes, 2014: 901).
The process of economic globalization has produced its actors as well. These
economic globalization actors became key players in the global economy and have touched
on local industries of nation-states to create an international, tradable, and not-context-
limited goods and services. Aside from this are economic globalization actors that try to
produce harmony in an ever-growing economic and market integration.
9
- TNCs' ability to ‘outsource’ manufacturing jobs—that is, to cut labor costs by
dispersing economic production processes into many discrete phases carried out
by low-wage workers in the global south—is often cited as one of the hallmarks
of economic globalization.
- Enterprises like Wal-Mart, General Motors, Exxon-Mobil, Mitsubishi, and
Siemens belong to the 200 largest TNCs, which accounts for over half of the
world’s industrial output.
10
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
On economic globalization and global economic actors:
Globalization- trade and transnational corporations | Society and Culture | MCAT |
Khan Academy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmomzubjO1I )
How the IMF Monitors the Global Economy
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlzBFLsToGk )
What's the difference between the IMF and the World Bank? | CNBC Explains
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN3qrFA4jXc )
Covid-19: why the economy could fare worse than you think | The
Economist (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9v6givfTEA )
TIME EVENT
130 BCE – 1453 BCE Silk Road, the oldest known international trading route
from China to the Middle East to Europe.
1571 Establishment of the galleon trade which connected
Manila to Mexico; made the connection between the
Americas and the trading routes possible.
1867 A more open trade system was established when nations
like the United Kingdom, the United States, and other
European countries adopted the gold standard.
World War I (1914 – To support the war efforts, the countries depleted their
1918) gold reserves, forced them to abandon the gold standards.
European countries adopted floating currencies.
1920s – 1930s The Great Depression happened—the worst and longest
recession ever experienced by the Western world.
th
Early 20 century The world economy operates based on fiat currencies—
currencies that are not backed by precious metals and
whose value is determined by their cost relative to other
currencies. This system allows governments to freely and
actively manage their economies by increasing or
decreasing the amount of money in circulation as they see
fit.
1944 Bretton Woods Conference gave birth to International
Banks for Reconstruction and Development (IBDR), World
Bank, and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
1957 Establishment of the European Economic Community
(EEC).
1964 The United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) was established with the joint
effort of the developing world.
11
1986 – 1994 Multilateral trade negotiations were carried out under the
Uruguay Round.
1995 The Uruguay Round gave birth to a ‘real’ international
trade institution, the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Some historical notes related to the development of economic globalization in the contemporary world (Steger, 2014;
Benczes, 2014; Claudio & Abinales, 2018).
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
On the detriments of economic globalization:
Globalization and Trade and Poverty: Crash Course Economics #16
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MpVjxxpExM )
What global trade deals are really about (hint: it's not trade) | Haley Edwards |
TEDxMidAtlantic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v3uqD1hWGE )
12
TASK/ACTIVITY
Research on the following: (a) the origins and history of the institution you
have chosen; (b) map the international connections it has created; (c) identify
the major country-leaders of this institution; (d) locate the Philippines in this
map of interconnections.
Then answer this question: How does this institution influence global
economic activity? How does it affect economics in the Philippines?
Discuss your points clearly. Don’t forget to cite your sources, use APA citation
style.
Format: 500 words maximum. Times New Roman. 12 font size. Single-space. In
short bond paper (8.5 x 11). (Notice to the instructor: this format serves as a parameter
guide and can be adjusted to the needs and/or conditions of the students)
This activity is adopted from the learning activity for “The Globalization of World Economic” in The
Contemporary World textbook (Claudio & Abinales, 2018: 25).
TASK/ACTIVITY RUBRICS:
Format: 15%
Citation and ethical integrity: 20%
Integration, organization, and elaboration of data, information, and points: 50%
Writing technicalities (narrative, grammar): 15%
In this part, the attributes of the contemporary global system, namely, world
politics, the nation-state, internationalism, and the global interstate system will be
13
discussed. The goal is to familiarize oneself with concepts that make up the politics at the
international level. Perspectives on the role of what forms the global politico-interstate
system are indicated to show how scholars take on this globalization aspect differently.
THE NATION-STATE
- The nation-state is a relatively modern phenomenon in human history, and people
did not always organize themselves as countries.
- The nation-state is composed of two non-interchangeable terms:
NOT ALL STATES ARE NATIONS. NOT ALL NATIONS ARE STATES.
E.g. many commentators believe that the Bangsamoro is a separate nation
existing within the Philippines, but through their elites, recognizes the authority
of the Philippine state (this is a case of states with multiple nations);
The nation of Korea is divided into North and South Korea (this is a case of a
single nation with multiple states).
1. THE STATE
o Refers to a country and its government.
o The institution that creates warfare and sets economic policies for a country.
It is also a political unit that has authority over its affairs.
o Independent political communities each of which possesses a government and
asserts sovereignty in relation to a particular portion of the earth’s surface and
a particular segment of the human population (Bull, 1995 as cited in Schattle,
2014: 933).
o Essential elements of the state:
a. PERMANENT POPULATION – inhabitant of the country, its citizens
b. TERRITORY – total portion of the land governed
c. GOVERNMENT – an entity that regulates relations among its people and
with other states
14
d. SOVEREIGNTY – supreme uncontrollable power of the state over its
territory; refers to internal and external authority
INTERNAL AUTHORITY: no individuals or groups can operate in a given
national territory by ignoring the state. I.e. groups like churches,
corporations, and other entities have to follow the laws of the state where
they establish their parishes, offices, or headquarters.
EXTERNAL AUTHORITY: a state’s policies and procedures are independent of
the intervention of other states. I.e. Russia or Germany cannot pass laws
for the Philippines and vice versa.
o States have the following rights:
a. Right to govern its people
b. Right for self-determination
c. Right to impose the country’s policy
d. Right to take over issues in its jurisdiction
2. THE NATION
o “An imagined political community”—imagined as both inherently limited
and sovereign (a conceptual definition forwarded by Benedict Anderson in
his most celebrated work, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin
and Spread of Nationalism (1983)). “Imagined” in a sense that the nation
allows one to feel a connection with the community of people even if he/she
will never meet all of them in his/her lifetime. E.g. you know that you live in a
territory with the people in the Visayas or Mindanao even if you haven’t seen
them in person.
o The concept emphasized organic ties to hold groups of people together and
inspire the senses of loyalty and belonging (Schattle, 2014: 933).
o Nations are viewed as socially constructed political communities that hold
together citizens across many kinds of cross-cutting identities: ethnicity,
language, religions, and so forth (Schattle, 2014: 933).
o Nations often limit themselves to people who have imbibed a particular
culture, speak a common language, and live in a specific territory.
o Most nations strive to become states. Nation-builders can only feel a sense
of fulfillment when the national ideal assumes an organizational form whose
authority and power are recognized and accepted by “the people”.
Internationalism is born out of the desire for greater cooperation and unity
among states and people, a system of heightened interaction of various sovereign
15
states (Claudio & Abinales, 2018: 32). The principle of internationalism can be divided into
two broad categories: liberal internationalism and socialist internationalism.
PERSPECTIVES ON INTERNATIONALISM (Claudio & Abinales, 2018)
1. Immanuel Kant
o German philosopher Immanuel Kant likened the states in a global system to
people living in a given territory.
o Kant argued that without a form of world government, the international
system would be chaotic.
o Kant imagined a form of global government where states, like citizens of
countries, must give up some freedoms and establish a continuously growing
state consisting of various nations which will ultimately include the nations of
the world.
2. Jeremy Bentham
o British philosopher Jeremy Bentham (coined the term "international" in 1780)
advocated the creation of "international law" that would govern the inter-
state relations.
o Bentham believed that objective global legislators should aim to propose
legislation that would create "the greatest happiness of all nations taken
together".
3. Giuseppe Mazzini
o First to reconcile nationalism with liberal internationalism.
o He believed that a Republican government (no kings, queens, and hereditary
succession) and proposed a system of free nations that cooperated to
create an international system.
o Free, independent states would be the basis of an equally free, cooperative
international system, the basis of global cooperation.
4. Woodrow Wilson
o Wilson saw nationalism as a prerequisite for internationalism.
o In his faith in nationalism, he forwarded the principle of self-determination—
the belief that the world’s nations had a right to free, sovereign government. o He
believed that only by being democratic nations that they would be able to build a
free system of international relations based on international law and
cooperation.
o He advocated for the creation of the League of Nations.
5. Karl Marx
o Marx was an internationalist but he did not believe in nationalism.
o He believed that any true form of internationalism should deliberately
reject nationalism, which rooted people in domestic concerns instead of
global ones.
o Marx placed a premium on economic equality.
o Marx and Engels opposed nationalism because they believed it preventing the
unification of the world’s workers.
16
From left to right: Kant, Bentham, Mazzini, Wilson, and Marx. Images from Google Image.
The very principles of internationalism forwarded by Kant, Bentham, and Mazzini serve
as the blueprint for the very face of internationalism in the contemporary world which is
the United Nations (this will be discussed further in the next topic).
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
To better understand the relationship between nation-states and globalization processes,
you might want to check this TED Talk:
Do we need Nation States? | Toni Lane Casserly | TEDxBerlinSalon
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJPE4H_fgBQ)
Scholars are divided on the position of the nation-state in the process of globalization.
Some argue that the nation-state has no firm stand in globalization which is mainly viewed
in the economic dimension. While there are still those who believe that nation-states are
still relevant in the globalization context. Nation-states are still governing agencies and
political units that affect and shape power relations even in the international or global
arenas. As the representative of its people, nations-states are called to practice…
the power to determine economic, social and environmental objects for national
development and the capacity to ensure that transnational corporations meet
these priorities and to set the stage for new forms of participatory democracy
whereby the citizens become effectively involved in international policymaking on
trade, investment, and finance (Cavanagh and Mander, 2004 as cited in Schattle,
2014: 936).
The nation-states of the world are here to stay and play key roles in the shaping of
globalization. This manifests in the formation of regional partnerships with neighboring
countries (e.g. the Philippines in the ASEAN); membership, and active participation in
18
international organizations and global governing bodies like the United Nations;
adherence to universal norms and values; and establishment of transnational networks
among others.
Global politics and interstate conditions have their fair share of positive and
negative implications and results, yet these do not stop nation-states in increasing the
interconnectivity and interrelationship to one another as the forces of globalization bind
them together. The challenge remains as to how global policies created and lobbied by
interstate agencies with a high participatory mandate will create a more just
globalization process in all its economic, political, and cultural aspects.
TASK/ACTIVITY
In one whole sheet of paper, explain your answers clearly. Support your claims
with facts. Draw your answer from your study and understanding of the
material. 30 points.
19
harmony—amid individual nation-state interests. This challenge calls for the formation
of a global governance body.
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
DEFINITION
20
c. If the actors of global governance are to remain viable, international
organizations and the values of multilateralism embedded in them must be
st
reconstituted in line with 21 -century principles of governance and legitimacy.
d. Global governance actors must be capable of addressing contemporary
challenges effectively.
e. Global governance is a rules-based order without government.
f. Global governance is not a supplement but rather a kind of surrogate for
authority and enforcement for the contemporary world.
g. The emergence of global governance roots from (1) the growing recognition of
problems that defy solutions by a single state; (2) the growth in the numbers and
importance of non-state actors (civil society and market).
h. The United Nations (UN) is both a global governance actor and site.
i. “Good” global governance implies an optimal partnership between the state,
regional, and global levels of actors and between state, intergovernmental, and
nongovernmental categories of actors.
1. States sign treaties and form organizations to help in the process of drafting and
legislating public international law (i.e. international rules that govern
interactions between states). E.g. peace treaties.
2. International Non-government Organizations (NGOs), though they do not have
formal state power, can influence government or states to behave in a certain
way. E.g. WHO, an international organization under the UN, played a key role in
lobbying guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION
POWERS OF IOs (listed by Michael N. Barnett and Martha Finnemore in Claudio &
Abinales, 2018: 41)
1. Power of classification – IOs can invent and apply categories, they create
powerful global standards. E.g. they can define what poverty means and through
that, nation-states can determine who the poor in their demographic are.
21
United Nations’ emblem. Image from
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co
mmons/thumb/e/ee/UN_emblem_blue.svg
/906px-UN_emblem_blue.svg.png
2. Power to fix meanings – a broader function related to the power of
classification; the need to address here is for concepts such as “development” to
be well-defined. IOs are viewed as legitimate sources of information by states,
organizations, and individuals. The meaning they create have effects on policies.
E.g. if an IO defined what it means when you say development, then states will
pattern its policies to achieve the kind of development defined by IOs.
3. Power to diffuse norms – IOs can define and/or forward accepted codes of
conduct or behavior. IOs also spread ideas across the world, thereby establishing
global standards. E.g. no discrimination on employment and occupation.
Norms: accepted codes of conduct that may not be strict law, but produce
regularities in behavior.
With these powers, IOs can be sources of great good and great harm (Claudio & Abinales,
2018: 41). As IOs embody global governance, in addition to the powers they have, the
challenge for the actors that comprise these IOs is to uphold fairness in their blanket
deliberations, policies, and actions that unevenly affect nation-states engaged in their
multilateral bureaucracy and forum. Weiss & Thakur (2014) notes that the life and survival
of IOs rest on two factors: (1) the capacity to change and adapt; (2) the quality of their
governance. The capacity to adapt in an ever-changing international condition and to
uphold a premium quality in their leadership and practice of governance.
THE UNITED NATIONS
22
2. Six main organs of the UN:
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL: the principal body for coordination, policy
review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social, and
environmental issues, as well as the implementation of internationally agreed
development goals. It has 54 Members, elected by the General Assembly for
overlapping three-year terms. It is the United Nations’ central platform for
reflection, debate, and innovative thinking on sustainable development.
23
TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL: as established in 1945 by the UN Charter, under Chapter
XIII, to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories that had been
placed under the administration of 7 member-states, and ensure that adequate
steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self-government and
independence.
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE: the principal judicial organ of the UN. The
Court’s role is to settle, following international law, legal disputes submitted to it
by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by
authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
4. The UN provides and manages the framework for bringing together the world’s
leaders to tackle the pressing problems of the day for the survival, development,
and welfare of all peoples, everywhere (Weiss & Thakur, 2014: 538).
1. The UN has never transcended the state's system and instead operates mainly as
a forum for states to air their differences and try to resolve them.
2. The UN represents the world’s people based on their national membership and
not on the basis of their humanity. I.e. national membership to a particular
nation-state is the identity of an individual that is regarded and not on the basic
yet deeper level that the individual is a human being.
3. The UN has been unable to prevent many atrocities and genocides around the
world during its history. I.e. in the presence of global policies, the UN is still
unable to mediate and put an end to atrocities because the perpetrators of these
are members of the UN themselves.
GAPS IN GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
Five main gaps confront the UN since its foundation, namely, knowledge gaps,
normative gaps, policy gaps, institutional gaps, and compliance gaps. Weiss and Thakur
(2014) elaborated ways on how to identify, diagnose, and fill the gaps through managing
knowledge, developing norms, promulgating recommendations, and institutionalizing
ideas.
24
MANAGING KNOWLEDGE
1. Recognize the existence of the problem that goes beyond the capacity of
any state.
2. Collect solid data about the nature of the problem, and understand its
causes to explain the problem.
The UN should be a knowledge-based and knowledge management organization. UN
should use its convening capacity and mobilizing power to help funnel knowledge
from outside and to ensure its discussion and dissemination among governments.
DEVELOPING NORMS
Once a problem has been identified and diagnosed, the UN helps to solidify a new
norm of behavior through summit conferences, and international panels.
From knowledge to norms: when a problem serious enough warrants attention from
international policy community, new norms need to be articulated, disseminated,
and institutionalized.
International norms can be transmitted down into national politics and incorporated
into domestic laws or into the policy preferences of political leaders through elite
learning.
FORMULATING RECOMMENDATIONS
As new problems emerge and new norms arise, they highlight gaps in policy that also
need attention.
The policy stage refers to the statement of principles and actions that an
organization is likely to take in the event of particular contingencies.
The UN’s ability to convene and consult widely plays an enormous part in its ability
to formulate recommendations for specific policies, institutional arrangements, and
regimes.
INSTITUTIONALIZING IDEAS
Virtually every problem has several global institutions working on significant aspects
of solution.
Institutions can facilitate problem solving even though they do not possess any
coercive powers.
Globalization has led to more practice in international cooperation but has
introduced additional layers of complexity and conflict potential. The creation of
institutions requires the knowledge, normative and policy-making gaps have been at
least partially filled.
Once knowledge has been acquired, norms articulated and policies formulated, an
existing institution can oversee their implementation and monitoring.
Steps in addressing the gaps in global governance (Weiss & Thakur, 2014)
25
As the symbol of global governance, the United Nations is not a perfect
international organization. However flawed and limited the UN is, no one can discount
how it mediates inter-state relations and how it influences definitions, policies, state
actions, and the social, economic, political, and cultural discourses at the international
level. In the end, global governance has transcended from a strict hierarchy of
international action involving nation-states to global efforts that involve the dynamics
and participation of both nation-states and non-nation-states actors. In the end, the
actors, arenas, and architecture of global governance are continually evolving (Weiss &
Thakur, 2014: 550).
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
More on contemporary global governance through the United Nations:
How Does The UN Work? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlmYtJiUK00 )
The United Nations Is Created | Flashback | History
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnQESSTouNU )
How Powerful Is The United Nations?
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH6Y2jUaLvI )
FAO Policy Series: Global Governance
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUWiW8RqWSM )
ASSESSMENT
THINKPIECE:
LEARNING OUTCOMES
In this lecture, concepts like the global north, global south, First World countries,
and Third World countries, among others, will be explored. Moreover, the concept and
practice of regionalism, especially in the Asian context, will be discussed.
27
TOPIC 1: GLOBAL DIVIDES: LOCATING THE GLOBAL SOUTH
In the illustration provided below, the world is presented in a binary. The blue
areas are what constitutes the global north, and the red areas constitute the global
south—our country, the Philippines is a part of this. The concepts of ‘global north’ and
‘global south’, ‘First World country’, and ‘Third World country’, and ‘developed country’
and ‘developing country’ are social constructs that relate to the very nature of
unevenness and inequality in the process of globalization. We note in the previous
discussions that globalization does not affect every nation-state or country in the same
way. At the end of the day, globalization has produced losers and winners in terms of
socioeconomic and politico dynamics found in this increasing interconnectivity and
expansion of networks. As Claudio (2014) put it, globalization creates undersides and
engenders the visible process of the north-south divide.
Claudio (2014) posited that drawing the lines between the global north and the
global south has a powerful political function wherein critics of global inequality and
activists of global equality can distinguish who are the beneficiaries of the uneven systems
28
of global power. The global south stands at the bad side of this inequality which is why
the bulk of the discussion focuses on it.
THE GLOBAL NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE (Royal Geographical Society, n.d.)
The concept of a gap between the Global North and the Global South in terms of
development and wealth.
In the 1980s, the world was geographically split into relatively richer and poorer
nations. To show this phenomenon, the Brandt Line was developed.
In this model (Brandt Line), richer countries are almost all located in the Northern
Hemisphere of the globe, except for Australia and New Zealand.
Poorer countries are mostly located in tropical regions and the Southern Hemisphere of
the globe.
Substantial researches reveal that the inequality between the world’s richest
countries and the poorest countries is widening.
Economic development and inequalities become more complex that the Brandt Line
of a binary nature in a geo-economic sense does not account for poorer countries
experiencing significant socioeconomic development, and countries located at the
global north experience third world realities.
The Global South is not a directional designation or a point due south from a fixed north.
It is a symbolic designation meant to capture the semblance of cohesion that emerged
when former colonial entities engaged in political projects of decolonization
29
and moved toward the realization of a postcolonial international order (Grovogui,
2011 as cited in Claudio, 2014).
The terms ‘global south’, ‘Third World’, and ‘developing country’ point to the
common phenomena: the underdevelopment of certain states/people and their
lack of representation in global political processes.
These terms are also used to represent all ways to represent interstate inequalities
in all aspects of globalization.
The social, economic, political, and cultural realities of the countries in the global
south are shaped by large-scale projects from imperialism, cold war-era
containment, to neo-liberal globalization, among others.
Countries that form the global south are mostly colonies of Western countries like
Europe and America (both are First World countries) in the past. In the postcolonial
context, the likelihood of being poor is higher for states associated in the global
south (Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South America). Many of these formerly
colonized countries are the same ones inadequately represented in global
organizations like the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the various international
banks.
In the global south, the struggle for autonomous governance is largely waged as a
struggle to democratize the state to make it responsive to the needs of people on
the ground rather than the demand for external power.
The global south is a product of Western imagination and a ‘savior’ stance. I.e. the
Western countries (colonizers) believed that countries that have a different form of
society from them are not ‘civilized’ and require saving by the imposition of social,
political, economic, and cultural colonial projects.
The global south has been the specter and the necessary counterpoint of global
modernity as it has been articulated in various forms. The paradox of globalization
remains no development without underdevelopment, no globalism without
parochial localism.
For Walden Bello (2006), development in the global south must catalyze the country’s
financial resources for development from within, rather from a dependence on foreign
investments and foreign financial markets (as cited in Claudio, 2014: 853).
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
More on global divides:
What Does 'Third World Country' Mean?
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1xBpBaBbrA )
Why Some Countries Are Poor and Others Rich
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-4V3HR696k&t=86s )
Third World vs First World Countries - What's The Difference?
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yKvwOydZFw&t=276s )
Income and Wealth Inequality: Crash Course Economics #17
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xMCWr0O3Hs)
30
IDEOLOGIES/THEORIES THAT CONTINUALLY RE-IMAGINE THIS DIVIDE
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
On globalization theories:
Globalization theories | Society and Culture | MCAT | Khan Academy
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQIVIYCZ4ec&t=238s )
The discussion of the imaginary yet highly social, political, economic, and
cultural divide between the ‘global north’ and the ‘global south’ presents complex and
intersecting processes of economics, power relations and dominations, and
developmental thrusts. Although the global south is presented as standing in the losing
side of very Western and First World oriented economic globalization policies and
practices, it still signifies that the countries associated with this label continue to be
globalized. Reiterating Claudio’s (2014) notes on challenging and diminishing global
and/or interstate inequalities, “global institutions have yet to prove that ‘they can
31
diminish international inequalities’, while ‘nation-states… are in a position to diminish
regional or group inequalities to some extent” (p. 853). Global inequality is a social
construct which makes it viable for deconstruction and therefore, change.
Another way of looking at the world apart from distinctions of ‘global north’ and
‘global south’—these are social constructs connoting the unevenness and inequality
inherent with globalization which produces winners and losers in social, political, and
economic senses—is through the idea of regions. Take the Philippines, for example. Our
country’s archipelagic nature has formed a sense of local regionalism where close-knit
provinces are grouped within a region. The Philippines has seventeen (17) regions.
Although separated by regions, the sense of nationalism of Filipino citizens remains true
as to recognize oneself as a part of a nation-state.
The regionalism in the Philippines is different from the regionalism that will be
discussed for this topic. The lens to look at the phenomenon of regionalism shifts from
the Philippines and extends to its neighboring countries. This poses the questions, “how
did the Philippines come to identify itself with the Southeast Asian region? Why is it a
part of a regional grouping known as the Association of Southeast Asian Nation
(ASEAN)?” (Claudio & Abinales, 2018: 50). The answer to these questions lies at the very
nature of regionalism.
32
ASEAN region map. Image from https://assets.weforum.org/editor/BJWwsWYHgg5DIHZFkW8HxsmFOpbXPz_e2J6-JNcffTM.png
The concept encompasses a broader area, although often seen as a political and
economic phenomenon.
Regionalism, as a phenomenon, can be examined in relation to social structures such
as identities, ethics, religion, ecological sustainability, and health among others.
A process that must be treated as an “emergent, socially constituted phenomenon”
It means that regions are not natural or given (not established since the beginning
of time), instead, they are constructed and defined by policymakers, economic
actors, civil society, and even social movements.
Just like the idea that the world is divided between ‘global north’ and ‘global south’, the
concept of regionalism is a social construct—people have created it to establish a sense of
organization and membership among social, political, and economic actors (particularly
nation-states) that have a relationship to one another and use this relationship to identify
and achieve goals rooted in a sense of solidarity and identification to each other’s needs.
Because the idea of regions is socially constructed and defined by certain actors, they are
open to deconstruction, changes, and/or reformulations.
Conceptualizing the region (Mansfield & Milner, 1999; Claudio & Abinales, 2018).
1. Regions are “a group of countries located in the same geographically specified
area” or “an amalgamation of two regions [or] a combination of more than two
regions” organized to regulate and “oversee flows and policy choices”.
2. A region’s implication moves beyond the proximity of constituent states. Apart from
this proximity, “members of a common region also share cultural, economic,
linguistic, or political ties”. E.g. the languages spoken in Southeast Asia are branches
of the Malayo-Polynesian languages; Asian countries share a collective social
structure, different from the individualistic stance of Western countries.
3. Regionalization and regionalism should not be interchanged.
33
Regionalization – regional concentration of economic flows; the growing
intensity of interaction and cooperation between neighboring countries
Regionalism – a political process characterized by economic policy cooperation
and coordination among countries; pertains more on intergovernmental
collaborations
Several reasons for forming regional alliances:
a. Military defense e.g. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
b. Trading partners – countries can pool their resources, get better returns for their
exports, and expand their leverage in the trading arena. e.g. Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
c. Protect independence from pressures of superpower politics e.g. Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM) which is an organization of countries that refuse to align with
the Western superpowers
d. Economic crisis compels countries to come together e.g. regional organizations
can establish an emergency fund that can be utilized by their constituent states
struck by the economic crisis to stabilize their economy and not affect the other
economies.
REGIONALISM vis-à-vis GLOBALIZATION: THE CASE OF ASIA PACIFIC AND SOUTH ASIA
In his article, Globalization and the Asia Pacific and South Asia, Ehito Kimura
(2014) presented three (3) frameworks by which we can understand the relationship
between globalization and the regions in the Asia Pacific and South Asia. These
frameworks show how globalization is related to regionalism, yet regionalism can be a
reaction against globalization as well. In his words, the “various lenses through which to
explore the relationship between globalization and the region of [the] Asia Pacific and
South Asia… shows how globalization is a complex process where regional dynamics
must be understood as both a cause and a consequence” (Kimura, 2014: 843). Kimura
explained his frameworks further by citing economic, political, and cultural instances
that happened in the Asia Pacific and South Asia regions throughout history.
Let us be reminded of the definitions of globalization, regionalism, and region:
Globalization – worldwide integration along economic, political, social, and cultural lines
The three (3) frameworks for understanding the relationship between globalization and
the regions of the Asia Pacific and South Asia are (Kimura, 2014):
34
Illustration of the Asia Pacific and South Asia region. Image from https://media.corporate-
ir.net/media_files/nys/im/presentations/koppen/img009.gif
FRAMEWORK DESCRIPTIONS
The region has Globalization transforms the region of the Asia Pacific and
been affected by South Asia
globalization The duality of the effects of globalization on the region:
a. A positive force for bringing economic development,
(externalist political progress, and social and cultural diversity.
view) b. A negative force with the role it plays in economic
underdevelopment and the uprooting of local tradition and
culture.
MANIFESTATIONS THROUGHOUT THE REGION’S HISTORY:
- The “Western arrival” to the region through colonialism
(beginning from the 1500s) brought enormous changes.
Through colonial rule in the Asia Pacific and South Asia
countries, Europeans brought new economic practices,
35
religious beliefs, cultural values, and political structures
that affected and changed the region drastically.
- The consequences of Western influence. E.g. pressures
from Western superpowers have made Japan take
subsequent political and economic transformation turning
Japan into a regional and eventually world power.
- Movements for nationalism and independence emerged
in many parts of the world, the Asia Pacific and South Asia
regions included. These movements are products of an
increasingly globalized world. Benedict Anderson (2007)
highlighted that idea of nationalism became modular and
spread to other parts of the globe.
- Post-World War II economic developments and the rise
of financial investments through the role of International
Financial Institutions (IFIs) like World Bank and
International Monetary Fund (the cornerstones of
economic liberalization and globalization in the post-war
global economy). I.e. East Asian countries like Japan,
Korea, and Taiwan drew their economic developments
through economic policies they saw as an increasingly
globalized economic system. IFIs turned their attention to
developing countries in Southeast Asia.
- The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 which had the Thai
economy at its core and affected most of Asia was seen as
a result of a failed globalization and the limits of deep
impact globalization in economies in the region.
- Other regional effects of economic globalization and
liberalization include the changes in labor practices and
the rise of non-standard employment (i.e. temporary and
part-time employment). In this type of employment,
workers are not consignees of legal contracts and are
subject to poor working conditions.
- Politics has been a defining characteristic of globalization
as well. The region of the Asia Pacific and South Asia has
witnessed the fall of authoritarian regimes and the rise of
democratic governments. This shift in politics has been
attributed to factors such as the rising middle classes and
a more globally interconnected world.
- The effects of globalization on culture. The idea that
globalization is a form of Westernization, that globalization is
leading to cultural homogenization and the loss of cultural
diversity. This is seen in the changing diet of Asians
(preference for fast food and supermarket produced goods),
changing tastes in music, clothing, television, and
36
film. This point argues that Western cultural trends have
spread globally and increasingly marginalized how cultural
practices are expressed.
This framework forwards the idea that the relationship
between globalization and the region is largely a “one-way
process”—outside forces have brought fundamental and far-
reaching changes to the region.
The region is an This framework forwards the idea that the region is more of an
active agent autonomous agent serving as an engine for globalization.
pushing the This view shows the important ways in which the region is also
influencing and transforming the nature of globalization itself.
process of MANIFESTATIONS THROUGHOUT THE REGION’S HISTORY:
globalization - The presence of the spice trade route suggests the idea that
forward early modern-day history Asia has led the global economy
th
and fell behind from the 18 -century. I.e. before Europe
circumnavigated the world, spices were already making
their way to various parts of the globe and the European
were interested in cutting out the middleman.
- Asia, not the West, was the central global force in the early
modern world economy (because of the important trade
routes located in the region and the advancements in
th
science and medicine). The rise of Europe in the 18 -
century came only after the colonial powers extracted
silver from the colonies and pried their way into the Asian
markets.
- Colonies in the Asia Pacific and South Asia influenced the
West as much as the West influenced the region. E.g.
practices and technologies such as counterinsurgency,
surveillance, and torture were developed and perfected in
the colonial Philippines before making their way back to
America.
- Cases to dispute the claim that the Asia Pacific and South
Asian countries are at the receiving end of globalization:
Japanese development in the 1950s-1970s shaped and
globalized key parts of the world economy. China’s impact
on the availability and consumption of goods around the
globe.
- Countries in the region like India and China become a major
source of international migrant labor—one of the
fundamental characteristics of globalization. I.e.
remittance from migrants has become a core source of
income for many if the region’s economies. The region is
37
both the source and recipient of the influences of the
massive globalization of migration.
- The rise of regional free trade arrangements (regionalism)
in the Asia Pacific and South Asia. This regionalism (as
compatible and even pushing forward the process of global
economic integration) can promote regional cooperation
to global cooperation. E.g. open regionalism embodied by
the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
- A broad area of culture and globalization in the region. The
region is the source of a wide variety of cultural
phenomena that have also spread outward to the West and
the rest of the world. E.g. Japan’s Hello Kitty and Anime,
Korea’s K-drama and K-pop, Chinese kung-fu movies, and
India’s Bollywood films.
In contradiction to the first framework, this framework views
globalization as not working in a one-way street description,
the region is generative of many aspects of the globalization
process.
The region can The last framework focuses on viewing regionalism as an
be understood as alternative to globalization.
posing an This perspective sees the region as a source of resistance to
globalization or global or Western powers.
alternative to MANIFESTATIONS THROUGHOUT THE REGION’S HISTORY:
globalization - Japan’s colonization of the Asian region and the creation of
the East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere is viewed as a push
back against Western imperialism. E.g. propaganda
centered on the idea of “Asia for Asiatics” and the need to
“liberate” the region from Europe.
- The conceptualization of the Asian values of leaders in the
region argued that Asia has culturally distinct
characteristics that make it different from Western liberal
democracies. Proponents of the Asian value describe
Asians as respectful of authority, hardworking, thrifty, and
emphasizes the community rather than individuality is
antithetical to Western concepts such as individual rights,
political liberalism, and democracy.
- Regional arrangements provide another way that region
serves as an alternative to globalization. I.e. there are other
institutions proposed or implemented at the regional level
that are more exclusive and self-consciously ‘Asian’ such as
the East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC), the proposed Asian
Monetary Fund (AMF).
38
- A more subversive articulation of regionalism as an
alternative to globalization is the emergence of regional
terror networks. E.g. Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), main
operation in Indonesia with links in Malaysia, the
Philippines, and Thailand.
- Disengagement from globalization through various local
movements. E.g. community currency in the village of
Santi Suk in Thailand, local associations, self-sufficiency
groups, cooperative, and local production movements.
Kimura (2014) notes that these frameworks are not definitive, yet they already
offer rich analyses through historical and contemporary accounts on the ways by which
we can see the relationship between globalization and the region of the Asia Pacific and
South Asia.
1. link the competitive strengths of its diverse economies in order to boost their
productivity and sustain the region’s exceptional growth;
2. connect the region’s capital markets to enhance financial stability, reduce the
cost of capital, and improve opportunities for sharing risks;
3. cooperate in setting exchange rate and macroeconomic policies to minimize the
effects of global and regional shocks and to facilitate the resolution of global
imbalances;
4. pool the region’s foreign exchange reserves to make more resources available
for investment and development;
5. exercise leadership in global decision making to sustain the open global trade
and financial systems that have supported a half-century of unparalleled
economic development;
6. build connected infrastructure and collaborate on inclusive development to
reduce inequalities within and across economies and thus to strengthen support
for pro-growth policies; and
7. create regional mechanisms to manage cross-border health, safety, and
environmental issues better.
BENEFITS THE WORLD GAIN FROM ASIAN REGIONALISM (ADB, 2008: 14)
1. generate productivity gains, new ideas, and competition that boost economic
growth and raise incomes across the world;
39
2. contribute to the efficiency and stability of global financial markets by making
Asian capital markets stronger and safer, and by maximizing the productive use
of Asian savings;
3. diversify sources of global demand, helping to stabilize the world economy and
diminish the risks posed by global imbalances and downturns in other major
economies;
4. provide leadership to help sustain open global trade and financial systems; and
5. create regional mechanisms to manage health, safety, and environmental issues
better, and thus contribute to more effective global solutions to these problems.
The discussions on seeing the world in divides and regions do not aim to
perpetuate a sense of division but a sense of distinction on how globalization as a
multidimensional and uneven phenomenon creates and perpetuates inequality on
one hand, and promote solidarity and community among interstates that are
continually being shaped by globalization and regionalism.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
More on Asian regionalism:
ASEAN explained in 5 minutes
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAnfj8v5acM)
Benefits and Opportunities of Regional Cooperation in South Asia
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpKwv4qtrZ8 )
What is ASEAN? | CNBC Explains
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDTdXDDzJ1k)
What Is ASEAN And Why Is It Important For Southeast
Asia? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FIl3bxwLdw )
40
TASK/ACTIVITY
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Complete the crossword puzzle of concepts related to the discussions of Global Divides
and Asian Regionalism.
DOWN
1. economic development is conceptualized in a linear process
7. for the reason that globalization is uneven, it produces and perpetuates a sense of…
11. the regional group in which the Philippines is a part of
ACROSS
2. the bases of the gap between the Global North and the Global South
41
3. a political process characterized by economic policy cooperation and coordination
among countries
4. an economic framework which leans more on free-market capitalism
5. regional concentration of economic flows; the growing intensity of interaction and
cooperation between neighboring countries
6. the geographical split of 1980s
8. the symbolic designation meant to capture the semblance of cohesion that emerged
when former colonial entities engaged in political projects of decolonization and moved
toward the realization of a postcolonial international order
9. a group of countries located in the same geographically specified area” or “an amalgamation
of two regions or a combination of more than two regions” organized to regulate and “oversee
flows and policy choices
10. the 3 frameworks Kimura (2014) forwarded underscores the relationship of regionalism with...
ASSESSMENT
STATE PROFILING
Select a country, do research, and describe the following aspects:
1. The country’s economic policies
2. The country’s foreign and/or diplomatic policies
3. Membership of the country to international organizations (IO)
4. Determine if the country you have choses is part of the global north or
the global south
5. The country’s condition under globalization and regionalism
ASSESSMENT RUBRICS:
Format: 15%
Citation and ethical integrity: 20%
Integration, organization, and elaboration of data, information, and points: 50%
Writing technicalities (narrative, grammar): 15%
42
TOPICS
1. Global Media Cultures
2. The Globalization of Religion
LEARNING OUTCOMES
In this chapter, the succeeding topics focus on the processes that make up a
sense of “global culture” experienced by people that have access to certain forms of
media. With this, we explore how these shape the integration, interconnection, and
interrelation of people all over the world.
In the pursuit to answer the question of “when did globalization begin?”, cultural
anthropologist Arjun Appadurai (1996) contends that advances in media (i.e. television,
computers, and cellphones) together with migration (i.e. changing migration patterns as
43
people easily move around the world) fundamentally changed the human life and gave
way to globalization (as cited in Lule, 2014: 662). With this contention, we go back to
Appadurai’s (1996) five ‘scapes’: ethnoscape (flows of people), technoscape (flow of
technology), finanscape (flow of money), mediascape (flow of information), and
ideoscape (flow of ideas), all of which helps us to gain an understanding to the
multidimensional character of globalization, these flows make up the multiple and
intersecting dimensions shaping the global culture.
In his article, Globalization and Media: Creating the Global Village, Lule (2014)
forwards the ideas that (1) globalization could not occur without media; and (2)
globalization and media have proceeded together through time and supported these
claims by outlining the development of media throughout time. The essence of these
ideas is simplified in the statement that “media have made globalization possible”
(Lule, 2014: 661). Moreover, he cited instances by which media has played significant
roles in shaping the global processes of economics, politics, and culture—the three
aspects that make up the multidimensionality of globalization. Lastly, Lule’s (2014)
article looks at the concept and phenomenon of the ‘global village’ through the
conceptualizations and perspectives offered by Marshall McLuhan and Lewis Mumford.
CONCERTO OF GLOBALIZATION AND MEDIA (Lule, 2014)
44
Media – plural for medium; a means of conveying something, such as channel of
communication
EVOLUTION OF MEDIA AND GLOBALIZATION
Lule (2014) outlined five major media periods throughout history through which
he described the process of how the media of each time shaped and/or contributed to
the globalization of our world (p. 664). The five media periods are oral communication,
script, print, electronic, and digital—all are nuanced medium that played key roles in
pushing forward the economic, political, and cultural processes of globalization. The
descriptions Lule provided should help you grasp the ideas mentioned above, that
globalization could not occur without media, and globalization and media have
proceeded together through time.
oral
communication script print electronic digital
ORAL COMMUNICATION
The human speech is the oldest and most enduring medium.
How language facilitated globalization?
1. Language allowed humans to cooperate.
2. Sharing information about necessities such as land and water source as well as
knowledge on the climate and weather helped humans to travel and adapt to
their environments.
3. Sharing of information about tools and weapons led to the spread of
technology—language was the most important tool.
4. As human beings settled, language led to markets, trade of goods and
services, and eventually into international trade routes.
SCRIPT
Script, as the very first writing, allowed humans to communicate and share knowledge
and ideas over much larger space and across much longer times.
Scripts such as the alphabet learned by people around the world is central to the
evolution of humankind and its civilizations.
Scripts allowed for the written and permanent codification of economic, cultural,
religious, and political practice. These codes spread out over large distances and
handed down through time.
45
PRINTING PRESS
The ‘information revolution’ transformed markets, businesses, nations, schools,
churches, governments, and armies among others.
With the advent of the printing press, reading material suddenly was cheaply made
and easily circulated. Millions of books, pamphlets, and flyer were produced,
reproduced, and circulated.
The printing press encouraged the literacy of the public and the growth of schools.
The explosive flow of economic, cultural, and political ideas around the world
connected and changed people and cultures.
Two consequences produced through the development and practice of printing
press (Eisenstein, 1979):
1. Printing press preserved and standardized knowledge.
2. Print encouraged the challenge of political and religious authority because of
its ability to circulate competing views.
ELECTRONIC MEDIA
Electronic media include the telegraph, telephone, radio, film, and television.
These media helped in shaping globalization through the following:
1. Corporations and businesses were able to exchange information about
markets and prices, and newspapers could report information instantaneously
through the telegraph, telephone, and cellphone.
2. Artists used film to capture powerful narratives that resonated within and
across cultures.
3. Television allowed people to view pictures and stories from across the globe—
the world was brought into the homes.
DIGITAL MEDIA
The computer has facilitated globalization through the following:
1. In the area of economics, computers allow global trading to happen 24 hours
a day. Computers allow for the access of economic information as well.
Moreover, computers and the internet allow the streamline of tasks,
research, and industrial or corporate aspect to a global marketplace.
2. In politics, the computer and internet allow citizens access to information from
around the world, even information that governments would like to conceal.
3. With the access to information from around the globe, the internet allows
people to adopt new practices in music, sports, education, religion, arts and
other areas of cultures.
4. Social networking sites connect people around the world in a virtual
community.
46
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
More on the interplay of globalization, culture, and media:
Cultures, Subcultures, and Countercultures: Crash Course Sociology #11
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV50AV7-Iwc )
Mass media | Society and Culture | MCAT | Khan Academy
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RRyX9mI5Lw )
The Medium is the Message (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko6J9v1C9zE )
But Wait: How DOES The Media Tell You What To Think?
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7SzwMJ3MZQ)
Globalization and culture (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ydX2FY0dvY )
The conceptualization of the “global village” is rooted on the idea that the
people of the world came to know the world and imagined themselves acting in the
world through the media, and by doing so they became active agents in the sphere of
globalization (Lule, 2014: 668).
The idea of an existing “global village” has the following implications (Lule, 2014: 668-
669):
1. The media linked the globe with stories, images, myths, and metaphors. I.e.
echoes the flows of information and ideas.
2. According to Steger (2008), the media is bringing about a rising global imaginary
i.e. the globe itself is an imagined community where people imagine themselves
to be part of the world.
Benedict Anderson’s (1991) conceptualization of the nation as an ‘imagined
community’ presents the idea that people will never meet every person in
the nation, but in their minds, they imagine themselves as one and with a
sense of communion.
3. Marshall McLuhan argued that the media have connected the world in ways
that created a ‘global village’. The global village is envisioned as a utopia where
people are drawn closer by media as if they are neighbors because of how the
media mediates accessibility and smooth connection where people can share
information, knowledge, and cultures.
4. For Lewis Mumford, the dark side of the ‘global village’ lies at how corporations
and industries used media technology, not for beyond-borders-human-
connections-and-relations but capitalism, militarism, profit, and power plays.
Because media and globalization have connected people from around the world,
it is safe to imagine the world as a ‘global village’ yet this idea presents to us that the
connection, closeness, and interdependence of the social structures that comprise the
47
global village did not lead to collective harmony and peace. The dynamics between
media and globalization in the economic, political, and cultural aspects show the
dystopia in the conception of the global village.
The table below presents descriptions by which economic, political, and cultural
globalization and the media is affecting one another in the shaping of the global village.
48
With the manipulation of news, digital media is deemed to
have the potential to invigorate and transform political life
through the opportunity for alternative voices within and
across borders to be acknowledged. But this too can be
silenced. E.g. governments can use social media platforms
such as Facebook to spy upon or track down protesters and
oppositions.
Media and Through media platforms such as newspapers, magazines,
Cultural movies, radio, and the internet, the media produce and
Globalization display cultural products that range from pop songs to
films.
The media also generate numerous and ongoing
interactions among cultures—the commingling of media,
culture, and globalization.
For Jan Nederveen Pieterse (2008), there are three
outcomes when we talk about the influence of
globalization on culture.
1. Cultural differentialism – cultures are different, strong,
and resilient; despite globalization, these cultures will
endure and cultural diversity will be maintained. This
view also suggests that cultures are destined to clash as
globalization continues to bring them together. E.g. the
West and Islam will be locked in conflict.
2. Cultural convergence – globalization will bring about a
growing sameness of cultures. This outcome suggests
that cultural homogeneity will occur through cultural
imperialism in which the culture of “more developed
nations” invade and take over the cultures of “less
developed nations”. I.e. a global culture which is highly
American culture.
3. Cultural hybridity – globalization will bring about an
increasing blending or mixture of cultures. This
“mixing” will create new cultural forms, from music to
food to fashion. For Pieterse, this outcome is common
and desirable.
49
connect, interact, and relate to one another in a sense of imagined community. Indeed,
the interplay of media and globalization has numerous ways by which they shape
human lives.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
On global village and dynamisms of culture with globalization:
Diversity and globalization: James Sun at TEDxBayArea Ignite
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-K_bYQ11DE&pbjreload=101 )
Multiculturalism as a threat and multiculturalism as an asset | Rebar Jaff |
TEDxErbil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FSHKircIoA)
Marshall McLuhan - The World is a Global Village (CBC
TV) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeDnPP6ntic )
TASK/ACTIVITY
KOMIKS
Create a six-panel comic strip illustrating your experience with the global
media cultures. As an individual connected to the world through different
media (language, news, magazines, popular culture, and the internet), how
does this shape or influence your life. You can derive your illustration from
any of these ideas:
a. The manner by which the accessibility of ideas/information, and the
growing connection of peoples and cultures shape or influence the
way you live and the way you understand your place in the world.
b. The positive and negative effects of using media that you
experienced personally.
c. Your experience of local media cultures versus your experience of
American media cultures in terms of popular culture like music and
film.
d. The way by which global media cultures have helped you to stay
connected, informed, and sane during the Covid-19 pandemic
lockdowns.
You are free to use any illustration style and materials in your comics.
Create your comics strip in a short bond paper.
TASK/ACTIVITY RUBRIC:
Artistic elements (design, art style, medium):
20%
Creativity: 30%
Narrative, theme, ideas and/or ideals
forwarded50 through the comic strip: 50%
An example of a six-panel comic strip
TOPIC 2: THE GLOBALIZATION OF RELIGION
Religion is both an institution and a facet of a culture where the belief systems
and/or world views of peoples are contained. And if institutions and culture, in their
general sense, are subject to a dynamic relationship with globalization then religion is
no exception. There are contrasting views when it comes to the interplay of religion vis-
à-vis globalization. One pertains to the idea that religion rides at the back of
globalization and benefits from it. The other is rooted in the perspective of religious
people that globalization is an immoral thing that subjects man into the pursuit of
economic development and stability rather than a divine-ordained life that is
characterized by humility, dependence, and faith to God.
Claudio and Abinales (2018) enumerated the clash between religion (i.e. a
collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and world views that establish symbols
that relate to humanity to spirituality and moral values) and globalism (i.e. a widespread
belief among powerful people that the global integration of economic market is
beneficial for everyone since it spreads freedom and democracy across the world) in
terms of ideas and practices related to the powerful force of globalization.
The clash between religion and globalism is described through the following (Claudio &
Abinales, 2018: 62-63):
51
RELIGION GLOBALISM
• concerned with the sacred • places value on material wealth
• follows divine commandments • abide by human-made laws
• assumes the possibility of • puts premium on how much human
communication between action can lead to the highest
humans and the supreme being material satisfaction
• the supreme being has a social • globalists are not worried if they go
power over the human being and to heaven or hell, they life is about
judges human action in moral terms developing skills on how to seal
• less concerned with wealth, trade deals, raise profits, improve
they refuse materiality for a government revenue collections,
simple/humble existence protect the rich from excessive
taxing, and enriching themselves
• a religious person's duty is to live
righteously such that when they • globalists trains to be
die, they are assured with a place in shrewd businessperson
heaven • globalists use politics as both means
• religious people aspire to and ends to open up further the
become saints economies of the world
• religious people detest politics • the globalist idea is focused on
• religious evangelization is in itself the realm of markets
a form of globalization • globalists wishes to spread
• religions are concerned with goods and services
spreading holy ideas around
the world
With these clashing points between religion and globalism, several questions can be
raised, how exactly religion relates to globalization? What are the ways by which
globalization influence or affect the religions in the contemporary world? And, is religion
for or against globalization?
Victor Roudometof (2014) in his article, Religion and Globalization, discussed the
sociological take on the relationship of religion with globalization under the idea of what
he called the ‘religion-globalization problematic’ (p. 882). An overview of the
secularization paradigm became a prerequisite and sets the stage for the study and
presentation of the religion-globalization problematic. The inquiry on the relationship
between religion and globalization has produced agendas by which it can be interpreted
and then understood (Roudometof, 2014: 882).
SECULARIZATION PARADIGM
The modern world is a secular one, not because of people becoming less religious or
the growing separation of the church and the state, but because there has been a shift in
the framework of understanding human conditions (Roudometof, 2014: 883).
52
Secularization is understood as this shift; “it makes it possible for people to have a
choice between belief and non-belief in a manner hitherto unknown” (Ibid.). In our
secular society today, people have the freedom to choose if they are going to live their
life under a belief or non-belief. Individuals today are not compelled to be members of a
religion or to follow and live by religious practices. The presence of agnostics (do not
have any belief in any deity) and atheists (they do not believe in the existence of a deity)
today are manifestations of this shift of human condition with regards to belief systems
and/or worldviews contained in religions.
GLOBALIZATION OF RELIGION
• The spread of religions and specific genres/forms/blueprints of
religious expression across the globe.
• Forwards the idea that the very notion of what constitutes a ‘religion’ is the
product of a long-term process of inter-civilization or cross-cultural interactions.
• The study of secularism and the adaptation of secularization in various
cultures and faiths across the globe is an important facet of this.
• The spread of religion through missionaries that benefit from the channels of
globalization such as international travel, and the use of media (news, internet,
film, music, television) to become familiar to proliferate religious ideas.
religion is thus not the “regressive force” that stops or slow down globalization; it is
a “pro-active force” that gives communities a new and powerful basis of identity. It
is an instrument with which religious people can put their mark in the reshaping of
this globalizing world, although in its own terms (p. 67).
54
The relationship between religion and globalization, then, cannot be limited to the idea
that the two are entirely opposing and/or contradicting as the diagram on the
contradictions between religion and globalism shows (see diagram above).
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
On religion in the contemporary world:
The five major world religions - John Bellaimey
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6dCxo7t_aE )
Religion, faith and the role they play today | The Economist
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paVXPXoyDdo)
Animated map shows how religion spread around the world
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvFl6UBZLv4 )
Religion: Crash Course Sociology #39 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIgb-
3e8CWA)
Faith and Globalization (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OLHAWfJ_8Y )
ASSESSMENT
Watch the PBS documentary, “The Rise of ISIS” and create a 3- to 5- ASSESSMENT
minute reaction video. Through the reaction video, you can express RUBRICS:
your thoughts, ideas, and realizations regarding the documentary
Quality of
you’ve watched. This is just like writing a reaction paper but you
have to record yourself voicing out your ideas, thoughts, and content: 30%
realizations. You can outline the flow of the reaction video so that The reaction
you will be able to maximize the duration and focus on the (Ideas,
significant points. Moreover, explore the dynamics of religion and arguments, and
globalization through the conditions of the ISIS. The outline can go points
forwarded): 50%
like this [introduction/context your thoughts, ideas, and
Creativity and
realizations your understanding of the dymanics of religion and reaction video
globalization through the conditions of the ISIS] but you can create quality: 20%
your own flow. It doesn’t have to be a fancy reaction video, you
have the freedom to be creative as long as it is informative and
offers your analyses on the documentary.
55
Link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/rise-of-isis
TOPICS
1. The Global City
2. Global Demography
3. Global Migration
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The succeeding topics focus on the spatial and contextual aspects of globalization
and how economic, political, and cultural processes shape these spaces. In addition to the
spaces of globalization, we will also look at the aspect of human agency in relation to
globalization. Mainly, on how globalization is changing a country’s demographics and how
the ethnoscape (flows of people) of globalization, such as migration, illustrate the global
population and the movements of people around the world.
56
TOPIC 1: THE GLOBAL CITY
We constantly note that globalization has paved the way for the increasing
integration and interconnection of economies, political structures, cultures, and
peoples from all over the world. Globalization has established both international and
transnational institutions and social structures. Because globalization is ‘global’ we
assume that it is embodied by the whole world—like the entirety of the earth. But
because globalization is inherently uneven, some contexts and spaces embody its
essence more than the other. If London, New York, and Tokyo are considered and
recognized as ‘global cities’, then this poses the question, what constitutes a global city?
If these cities can be global cities, can Manila be one as well?
57
CHARACTERIZING THE GLOBAL CITY (Claudio & Abinales, 2018; Colic-Peisker, 2014)
The global city is the main physical and geographic context of globalizing forces, the
global flow of people, capital, and ideas are interconnected in the daily experiences
of its residents.
The global city represents and contains the world in a bounded space.
Global cities are hubs of innovation, creativity, and productivity. Global cities are
financial centers, with great concentration of geopolitical power, cultural
powerhouses, and higher education hubs and creative industries.
For sociologist Saskia Sassen (1991), the most defining characteristic is economic
power, which largely determines which cities are global. According to Sassen, global
cities are the “command centers”, the main spaces of triumphant global capitalism.
E.g. New York has the largest stock market; there are 613 company headquarters in
Tokyo; the biggest container port in the world is found in Shanghai.
According to the Global Power City Index by the Japanese Mori Foundation, the
global power of cities is measured through six criteria:
a. Economy
b. Research and development
c. Cultural interaction
d. Liveability
e. Environment
f. Accessibility
The ‘things’ produced in global cities are not material, they are immaterial such as
ideas and knowledge. This “symbolic economy” based on abstract products like
financial instruments, information, and popular culture (arts, fashion, music, etc.)
has increasing importance as manufacturing companies move out of cities into slum
cities in Third World countries.
Economic opportunities in a global city attract talents from across the world. E.g. IT
programmers and engineers from Asia moved to San Francisco and became key
figures in Silicon Valley’s technological boom.
Global cities are characterized by occupational and income polarization, with the
highly paid professionals on one end and providers of low-paid skill services on the
58
other. This condition continually reimagines social classes, income distribution, and
the labor market, and perpetuates the inherent inequality in globalization.
Global cities are centers of authority and in some instances, centers of political
influence. E.g. Washington D.C. is America’s seat of state power; United Nations’
headquarters in New York; headquarters of ASEAN in Jakarta.
Global cities are centers of higher learning and cultural experiences. They attract
international students. E.g. Harvard University in Boston; the American film industry
in Los Angeles; Singapore’s cultural hub.
The cultural power of global cities ties them to the imagination. I.e. references in
songs and films deliver a message of a “greater pasture” in global cities, persuading
people to move into one.
Global cities are melting pots for cultural diversity, as a consequence of human
mobility and migration. I.e. presence of foreign population either for work,
education, or tourism purposes.
Globalization has created the global labor market, leading to an increase in
transnational mobility and migration of people coming from different places
into the global cities.
The “magnetism” of global cities is not only for the creative and innovative
professionals and firms but also for other necessary workers (those in the
low-skilled, poorly paid service sector).
Global cities can be sites of great inequality, poverty, and violence—these spaces
create winners and losers.
Among the most profound downsides of everyday life in a global city are high
housing costs, long working hours, competitive labor market, long commuting time,
discrimination and racism, loss of sense of community which promotes greater
individuality among neighbors and residents.
Environmental aspect:
a. Cities like Singapore and Tokyo with dense population and extensive public
transportation systems have lower carbon footprints environmentally
sustainable
b. Cities like Manila and Bangkok with dense population and no extensive public
transportation coupled with unregulated car industries lead to a high level of
pollution environmentally unsustainable
c. Cities consume the most energy
Socio-political aspect:
- Cities are targeted for major terrorist attacks because of their high
population, global influence, and their embodiment of globalization. E.g.
9/11 attack in New York
59
Economic aspect:
- Today, it is common to find towering buildings alongside shantytowns
housing the urban poor population.
- Cities are now becoming the same mechanism that drives out and displaces
the poor, in favor of wealthier people (gentrification).
- The number of middle-class population is decreasing as the binary socio-
economic divide between the rich and the poor widens.
The very nature of global cities as the sites and medium of globalization
embody complex and interwoven economic, political, cultural, and demographic
processes. If we perceive globalization as an abstract process taking place at the world
level, the conditions in the global city illustrate to us that globalization is also tangible
and closer to home. Global cities pretty much exemplify globalization and its intricate
influence and relation to our everyday lived experiences.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
More on global city:
Global Cities - Full Documentary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-
4oMnmu47Q&t=68s)
Urbanisation and the growth of global cities
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpBbnL3pMRA )
Issues Illustrated: Global Cities
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x8zmA9RYrM)
Saskia Sassen | Global Cities
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP2VE7ptKjI&t=91s )
Urbanization and the future of cities - Vance Kite
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKnAJCSGSdk)
How to Make an Attractive City
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy4QjmKzF1c&t=104s )
60
TASK/ACTIVITY
Because most global cities attract creative and innovative people from around
the world, capitalize on your creative juices for this activity.
Create a collage depicting the essence of a global city. It is up to you if you will
focus on the bright side of the city lights or the undersides in the dark alleys or
shantytowns of the metro.
You are free to use any illustration style (you can draw or paint) and materials
in your postcard, you can even do this digitally. The postcard size is 5 (L) x 7
(W) inches, so you have to customize the paper you will use. Your postcard can
be in portrait or landscape orientation.
TASK/ACTIVITY RUBRICS:
Artistic elements (design, art style, medium): 20%
Creativity: 30%
Narrative, theme, ideas and/or ideals forwarded through the postcard: 50%
In the unit of the family, parents have different motivations for having children
which are highly influenced by their contexts and cultures. For families living in rural,
agricultural communities, having many children is advantageous because all are
expected to be additional hands in tending the farm and the kinship will be beneficial in
keeping the familial ties together. In contrast to urban, educated, and professional
families who will choose to have just one or two children because the couples are tied
down to their careers. In these cases, different perspectives on family-hood or family
life have significant effects on a country’s demography. Nowadays, “having or not
having children is mainly driven by economic” (Claudio & Abinales, 2018: 96).
61
Global demography. Image from https://s03.s3c.es/imag/_v0/770x420/d/f/8/Personas-mapa-mundo-iStock.jpg
The movements of people to urban areas and/or global cities are marking
significant changes in demography as well. As people move to the cities for work,
studies, and other reasons, population count and human density in cities with small
land-area spike up. In a similar case, international migration has been an omnipresent
force in relation to globalization and its influence on the human population.
DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION
For Lee (2003), there are temporal phases of demographic transition, which are
the pre-demographic transition phase and the actual demographic transition period. Lee
(2003) characterized the two phases.
62
According to Lee (2003), “[t]his demographic transition has brought momentous
changes, reshaping to economic and demographic life cycles of individuals and
restructuring populations” (p. 167). These shifts in population conditions indicated
above are shaped by changes that influenced significant fluctuations in the human
population itself. In addition, the “classic demographic transition” begins with mortality
decline, then a time of reduced fertility, resulting in an interval of increased and
decreased population growth, and population aging as the culmination (Lee, 2003: 170).
increase
and
mortality reduced decrease population
decline fertility in aging
population
growth
63
- The influence of contraceptive technology for fertility decline is another
aspect.
c. Population Growth
- Population growth is determined by the combination of fertility and mortality.
- According to United Nation’s trajectory forecast and prediction, the global
population will reach 8.9 billion by 2050 and just below 9.5 billion by 2100—
currently, we are at 7.8 billion people in the whole world.
d. Population Aging
- Both low fertility and longer life contribute to the aging of the population.
- When population aging is due to declining fertility, it raises the share of the
elderly population without altering the remaining life expectancy of older
individuals.
- Population aging due to declining mortality is generally associated with
increasing health and improving the functional status of the elderly.
These aspects are largely situated within the international contexts by comparing
trends, forecasts, and projection regarding the trajectory of the global population, 50
years or a century from now.
The current figures when it comes to the global population are at 7.8 billion
people in the whole world. As the trajectory of population growth leans more on the
increasing size for the next 50 or 100 years, the current problem with overpopulation
will heighten. As the number of people increases, the perils of overpopulation loom.
Claudio and Abinales (2018) have discussed some of these ‘perils’ and prospective
solutions governments can take to ‘control’ their population growth:
1. Overpopulation will bring about the environmental degradation that will lead to
food shortage and massive starvation. There is a growing sense of global food
insecurity.
2. The free expansion of family members would lead to a crisis in resources, which
may result in widespread poverty, mass hunger, and political instability.
3. Advocates of population control push for universal access to reproductive
technologies (condoms, pills, abortion, and vasectomy) and giving women the
right to choose whether to have children or not.
64
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
On global demographic transition and human population trajectories:
Mapping global population and the future of the world | The Economist
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur77lDetI9Q)
Overpopulation – The Human Explosion Explained
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsBT5EQt348 )
Demographic transition | Society and Culture | MCAT | Khan Academy
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P2bsPWCRvM )
Population dynamics | Society and Culture | MCAT | Khan Academy
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CAQN-nc8Ac&pbjreload=101 )
Presented below is the current demographic data of the Philippines. The data are mainly
sourced from Worldometer and Philippine Statistics Authority.
65
Demographic forecasts and predictions indicate an increasing trajectory of the Filipino
population for the next thirty years. With our existing institutional crises, failing
governmental policies and programs, rampant poverty and hunger, increasing
unemployment rate, decreasing purchasing power of the poor, environmental
degradation, the continuing trend of the population will pose challenges and problems
at intersecting and multilevel dimensions. We will start to ask how we are going to feed
additional million mouths, how are we going to accommodate more people in our
limited land area, how do we mitigate the tendency to move past our carrying capacity,
and how do we assure the next generations that they can still live securely.
Global demography is a broad topic which draws a lot of data and analyses from
different disciplines in the social sciences, data sciences, and statistics. Globalization will
continue to have a huge impact on human populations, mobility, migration, and related
conditions. Aside from the challenges of making globalization more just and capable of
upholding interstate and global harmony, making the results of the processes more
humane and mindful of different human conditions should be considered as well.
TASK/ACTIVITY
In the discussion of the global city, we focused on the spaces by which the large-
scale process of globalization manifests greatly in a context-bound perspective. In the
previous topic on the global population, we looked at forecasts and predictions of
human population trajectories in light of an ongoing demographic transition process.
For the last topic of this chapter, we focus on the movements of people under the push
and pull of globalization.
According to Ronald Skeldon (2012), some persistent views about migration include
the idea that the movement of people are somehow fixed to the circumstance that poor
people (from Third World countries) will always come to the richer cities (global city) or in
First World countries of the global north. Moreover, international migration is more
rampant than internal migration. Take the case of the Overseas Filipino Workers
68
(OFWs), they are part of the international labor market from a Third World country (the
Philippines), these OFWs move to other countries in hopes of better jobs and source of
income (economic reasons). Most OFWs work in the Middle East, East Asia, the United
States, and Europe among others.
REASONS FOR MIGRATION
BENEFITS DETRIMENTS
• Migrant workers' remittances make • Brain Drain - poor countries lose
significant contributions to the their skilled workers to rich
development of small- and medium- countries; professionals, skilled
term industries that help generate and talented workers are moving
jobs to richer countries because of
• Remittances change the economic better opportunities and benefits
and social standing of the migrant • Governments of home countries are
workers in their home country, aware that they are losing
• The purchasing power of the migrant professional workers yet they
worker's family doubles, they can now continue to promote migrant work
afford education and healthcare because of the remittance's impact
on the country's GDP
• Human trafficking
• Integration of the migrants to
the host country
The inherent inequality and unevenness in the process of globalization have created
winners and losers when it comes to the globalization of people. Richer countries
became winners for having skilled, talented, and professional workers from other
countries working for their economies. While poor countries experience brain drain
because all of the skilled and professional people have left the country, in part, through
69
the state policy and the role remittances play in the home country’s GDP. Likewise, for the
migrants themselves, they are winners if they can lift their families from poverty for having
better economic and living conditions in their host countries. But for migrants who
experience a rather negative turn of events, e.g. through human trafficking, they will not see
migration as something beneficial to them but rather detrimental and dislocating.
Global migration has its fair share of beneficial and detrimental results. As it
manifests and pushes forward greater globalizing processes in economic, political, and
cultural levels the challenge in terms of the movements of people around the world or
locally is how to ensure that the migrants are safe from abuse, oppression, and
discrimination. On a greater scale, making globalization just in all economic, political,
cultural, and human population and movement aspects remains the biggest challenge.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
More on migration:
Migration: Crash Course European History #29
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN8fjAjLLpg )
What does it mean to be a refugee? - Benedetta Berti and Evelien Borgman
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25bwiSikRsI )
How migration could make the world richer | The Economist
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjKYtfpe1a0)
Map Shows How Humans Migrated Across The Globe
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJdT6QcSbQ0 )
Migrations and Intensification: Crash Course Big History #7
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy2XJMczUNc )
70
ASSESSMENT
OFW INTERVIEW:
Interview a former or a current OFW (face-to-face or online). Ask them about the
reason for their migration, the positive and negative sides of being a migrant
worker, and what do they think about the current conditions of global migration
in relation to the state of our country’s economy.
In an essay, write about what you’ve learned or your insights from your
interview on global migration from the first-hand experiences and/or realities of
the OFW you did an interview with.
Ethical guidelines for this assessment:
1. Prior to the conduct of the interview, prepare a consent letter for your
target participant/interviewee. Make sure to provide the necessary
details about this activity (purpose, who else has access to the
information/data that you will be presenting, assurance that you will
uphold their rights whether they consent for the interview or not).
2. When the consent has been granted, make sure to respect the
participant/interviewee’s conditions (in terms of the duration of the
interview and the information he/she will disclose).
3. During the interview, maintain proper interview etiquette even if the flow
of the interview is informal (lax conversation between the student and
the participant).
4. Constantly create an atmosphere of respect in the manner of asking your
interview questions and assessing their responses if the need for follow-
up questions arises.
5. Do not forget to end the interview in a positive note. Thank your
participant and reaffirm that the data/information you gathered from
them will be used for academic purposes only.
6. For proof of credibility, attach a photo of your interview session (a photo
of you and your participant if you conducted face-to-face or video
conference interview, or screenshots of your interview session). Make
sure that you will also ask for their consent to take a photo or take
screenshots of your conversation. Do not attach a photo that will
incriminate and/or violate your participant’s rights to privacy.
Format: 500 words. Times New Roman. Font size 12. Single-space. In short bond
paper (8.5 x 11). (Notice to the instructor: this format serves as a parameter guide and can be
adjusted to the needs and/or conditions of the students)
ASSESSMENT RUBRICS:
Format: 10%
Interview and narrative drawn from the OFW interviewee: 25%
Discussion of Insights, thoughts, and realizations vis-à-vis the conditions and realities of
global migration: 50%
Writing technicalities (narrative, grammar): 15%
71
TOPICS
1. Sustainable Development
2. Global Food Security
LEARNING OUTCOMES
72
For this chapter, we take an environmental lens as we look at the different
effects or impacts of globalization and its development ideals on environments, natural
resources, and food security vis-à-vis current and future human populations.
ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
The ecological crisis, pollution problems, climate change, and global warming are
among the most pressing problems we face at the global level when it comes to the
relationship of development (under economic globalization) with the environment.
These problems are largely shaped by human actions and by how human populations
interact with their environment in light of their pressing needs. According to Conserve
Energy Future (as cited in Claudio & Abinales, 2018: 120), there are numerous
environmental challenges that the world faces today:
a. The destruction caused by industrial and transportation toxins and plastic in the
ground; the defiling of the sea, rivers, and water beds by oil spills and acid rain;
the dumping of urban waste
b. Changes in global weather patterns (flash floods, extreme snowstorms, and the
spread of deserts) and the surge in the ocean and land temperature leading to a
rise in sea levels (as the polar ice caps melt because of the weather), plus the
flooding of many lowland areas across the world
c. Overpopulation
d. The exhaustion of the world’s natural non-renewable resources from oil reserves
to minerals and potable water
e. A waste disposal catastrophe due to the excessive amount of waste (from plastic
to food packages to electronic waste) unloaded by communities in landfills as
well as on the ocean; and the dumping of nuclear waste
f. The destruction of million-year-old ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity
(destruction of coral reefs and massive deforestation) that have led to the
extinction of particular species and the decline in the number of others
g. The reduction of oxygen and the increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
because of deforestation, resulting in the rise in ocean acidity by as much as 150
percent in the last 250 years
h. The depletion of the ozone layer protecting the planet from the sun’s deadly
ultraviolet rays due to chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere
i. Deadly acid rain as a result of fossil fuel combustion, toxin chemicals from
erupting volcanoes, and the massive rotting vegetables filling up garbage dumps
or left on the streets
j. Water pollution arising from industrial and community waste residues seeping
into underground water tables, rivers, and seas
73
k. Urban sprawls that continue to expand as a city turns into a megalopolis,
destroying farmlands, increasing traffic gridlock, and making smog cloud a
permanent urban fixture
l. Pandemics and other threats to public health arising from wastes mixing with
drinking water, polluted environments that become breeding grounds for
mosquitoes and disease-carrying rodents, and pollution
m. A radical alteration of food systems because of genetic modifications in food
production
These environmental problems are global in scale but affect people unevenly.
Affluent people can ‘tolerate’ environmental degradation because they have the means
and access to healthcare, unpolluted areas for their residence, healthy food items, and
clean water among others. While poor people suffer even more as they usually live in
urban slums with a high concentration of waste pollution, they have no access to
healthy food items and clean water, air pollution from vehicles lead to respiratory
diseases (they cannot afford healthcare services), and because of their lower purchasing
power, they can only afford to buy goods that are packed in plastic packaging (which in
turn perpetuates the waste pollution they have in their areas) among others.
74
Now, the question we pose is if it is possible to continue with developments
under globalization while mitigating ecological degradation, climate change, and global
warming altogether? How can we achieve sustainable development? And, what does it
take to forward just and environmentally-wise economic policies and practices at the
global scale?
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
On the global environmental crisis:
Causes and Effects of Climate Change | National Geographic
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4H1N_yXBiA )
Fleeing climate change — the real environmental disaster | DW
Documentary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl4Uv9_7KJE )
Why humans are so bad at thinking about climate change
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkZ7BJQupVA )
The disarming case to act right now on climate change | Greta Thunberg
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2QxFM9y0tY )
Who Is Responsible For Climate Change? – Who Needs To Fix It?
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipVxxxqwBQw )
75
The United Nations is leading the call for action in mitigating environmental
degradation, climate change, and global warming with their Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) initiative which started in 2015 and with the participation of 193 nation-
states. These goals are desired to be achieved by the year 2030. According to the UN,
[t]he Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and
more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face,
including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental
degradation, peace, and justice. The 17 Goals are all interconnected, and in order
to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve them all by 2030 (n.d.).
76
4. Quality education – ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and
promote lifelong learning and opportunities for all
5. Gender equality – achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Clean water and sanitation – ensure availability and sustainable management of
water and sanitation for all
7. Affordable and clean energy – ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable,
and modern energy for all
8. Decent work and economic growth – promote sustained, inclusive and
sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work
for all
9. Industry, innovation, and infrastructure – build resilient infrastructure, promote
inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
10. Reduced inequalities – reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Sustainable cities and communities – make cities and human settlements
inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable
12. Responsible consumption and production – ensure sustainable consumption
and production patterns
13. Climate action – take urgent action to combat climate changes and their impacts
14. Life below water – conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine
resources for sustainable development
15. Life on land – protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and
reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Peace, justice, and strong institutions – promote peaceful and inclusive societies
for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective,
accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Partnership for the goals – strengthen the means of implementation and
revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
Because the 17 Goals are varied and cover most, if not the entirety, of the different
problems humanity face today, the SDGs are perceived as very ambitious. But the UN
assures that through their United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and with
the partnership of individual nation-states, stakeholders, and the civil society, it is
possible to champion these goals by 2030.
Globalization has produced both the problem and the perceived solution
concerning the pressing environmental crisis and the goals for sustainable development.
As globalization forward capitalistic and unethical practices that leave our environment
in a detrimental state, the members of the global governance (made possible through
globalization) are doing their best to comply and achieve the goals of sustainable
development.
77
The UN-SDGs are not mere idealism, because they are rooted in actual
materialistic human conditions. The goals of sustainable development are inclusive, it is
not only on the aspect of the human needs like food and water, but it also
accommodates strengthening the institutions and developing mechanisms and practices
by which the natural resources can be sustained. The present generations owe a secure
future for the coming generations.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
More on climate action and sustainable development:
The Green New Deal, explained
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxIDJWCbk6I )
How We Can Make the World a Better Place by 2030 | Michael Green | TED Talks
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o08ykAqLOxk)
What Is Sustainable Development?
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WODX8fyRHA )
Sustainable Development Goals: Improve Life All Around The Globe
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGcrYkHwE80 )
Going green shouldn't be this hard
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxKfpt70rLI&t=306s&pbjreload=101 )
TASK/ACTIVITY
78
TOPIC 2: GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY
The current status and challenges with global food security are largely anchored
on the pressing environmental crises, demographic changes, socioeconomic inequalities,
and related issues we face today. International organizations, nation-states, and
concerned civil society are turning their focus on the topic and discourse of global food
security and its implications to human life in an ever-complex and complicated
contemporary world.
The discourse on global food security catalyzes on the issue of feeding the
increasing population of the world, and the prevalence of hunger and malnutrition
that people, mostly from poor and/or developing countries, experience. According to
Barthwal-Datta (2014), “the challenge of food security in a globalized world is complex,
multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral—and one being compounded by the impacts of
climate change” (p. 122). Global food security is complex, multi-dimensional, and multi-
sectoral as it is influenced by the intersecting processes of economy, politics,
demography, climate change, human rights, and sustainability. Even in the Sustainable
Development Goals discussed in the previous topic, “Zero Hunger” is the second goal
hoped to achieve by 2030.
According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), “food security exists when all
people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and
nutritious food that meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and
79
healthy life” (FAO, 2002 as cited in Barthwal-Datta, 2014: 122). This conceptualization
comprises four key dimensions of food security: availability, stability, access, and
utilization (Schmidhuber & Tubiello, 2007).
AVAILABILITY
the overall ability of the agricultural system to meet food demand
the agro-climatic fundamentals of crop and pasture production
the entire range of socio-economic and cultural factors that determine where
and how farmers perform in response to markets
STABILITY
relates to individuals who are at high risk of temporarily or permanently losing
their access to the resources needed to consume adequate food, either
because these individuals cannot ensure ex-ante against income shocks or
they lack enough ‘‘reserves’’ to smooth consumption ex-post or both
an important cause of unstable access is climate variability
ACCESS
covers access by individuals to adequate resources (entitlements) to acquire
appropriate foods for a nutritious diet
a key element is the purchasing power of consumers and the evolution of real
incomes and food prices
UTILIZATION
encompasses all food safety and quality aspects of nutrition
its sub-dimensions are related to health, including the sanitary conditions
across the entire food chain
1. Proponents of human security see hunger as the most prevalent and gravest
threat to human security.
2. Food insecurity by way of hunger and malnourishment is a deeply incapacitating
threat to individuals and one that leaves them unable to conduct basic functions
of life.
3. Poverty is the main cause of food insecurity, which is in turn linked more broadly
to ‘political security, socio-economic development, human rights and the
environment’, placing it at the heart of all human security concerns.
4. The links between poverty, food security, and human security are particularly
evident in the face of food price spikes—sudden increases in food prices are most
harmful to those who are poor, such households become particularly vulnerable to
hunger and malnourishment; and, in certain socio-political contexts, food price
spikes may also help fuel civil unrest in the form of protests and riots.
Looking at the issues of global food security as embedded in the very nature of human
security is a perspective that can help further pinpoint structural, institutional, and
80
systemic processes influencing how human beings approach food supply and demand,
crop production and consumption, and the ways by which food security can be
sustained both at the local and international levels. Meeting the four dimensions of food
security is the key to ending hunger and malnutrition.
FACTORS SHAPING GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY DYNAMICS
Five trends are shaping global food security dynamics in the contemporary world
(Barthwal-Datta, 2014: 125):
1. Rising food prices and poverty
- the impact of food price spikes has been most devastating for those who live
in, or precariously close to, poverty
- sharp and sudden increases in food prices are detrimental to small farmers
who cannot often respond to such price increases in time to be able to take
advantage of them
- rising food prices is harmful to the farming households that are net
consumers of food, and rely on the market to fulfill their security needs
- the role of deeper structural issues related to the corporate food regime, and
the recent global food price spikes have occurred in the context of artificial
cheapening of traded food
2. Population growth and urbanization
- as population sizes increase in the coming years, the world is faced with a
challenge of feeding billions of people
- as more and more people move from the rural to urban areas in search of
better livelihoods, there are fewer people of working age left behind to
produce the growing quantities of food required to meet the rising demands
in urban areas
- as urban populations expand further, the pressure on food systems in terms
of the increased demand for land and water, and environmental degradation
and pollution from urban and industrial waste, are set to intensify further
3. Rising incomes and changing diets
- an overall growing global population means a corresponding increase in the
total demand for food at the global level
- as incomes in developing countries continue to grow, more and more people
can access food in greater quantities (not only in cereals but also in meat and
food items with sugar)
81
- the overall demand for grains for direct consumption and indirect
consumption through animal products (poultry, pork, eggs, and dairy items)
continues to expand
4. Biofuel production, land-use change, and access to land
- biofuel production involves using plant starch, oils, animal fats, and sugars to
create an alternative fuel and lessen the use of fossil fuels; in this manner,
crops are produced to be used as biofuel and not to be eaten by people
- there are serious risks of creating a battle between food and fuel that will
leave the poor and hungry at the mercy of the rapidly rising prices for food,
land, and water
- in diverting food crops away from use as food and livestock feed, biofuel
production puts pressure within the food system to bring other lands into
cultivation for food purposes, with implications for greenhouse gas emissions
- there are land grabbing cases by which small farmers are being forcibly
removed from their lands without compensation, thereby contributing to
both land concentration (in the hands of wealthier farmers and large
agribusiness) and landlessness in these communities
- without tenure security, small farmers tend to refrain from investing in
practices that ensure the sustainable use and management of natural
resources such as land and water, this has negative consequences for the
environment and farm productivity
5. Climate change
- climate change affects all four dimensions of food security: food availability,
food accessibility, food utilization, and food systems stability—it has an
impact on human health, livelihood assets, food production, and distribution
channels, as well as changing purchasing power and market flows
- agriculture is highly sensitive to climate, and food production is affected
directly by variations in agro-ecological conditions for growing crops
- the impacts of climate change will be mixed and uneven across regions
- the geographic location of most poor, developing countries around the world
and their continuing dependence on agriculture as the single most source of
livelihoods, means that climate change will bring them high costs and few
benefits, their heightened vulnerabilities to the impacts of climate change
are also an impediment to adaptation
- the impacts of climate change may further damage the agricultural resource
base by shrinking the availability of suitable land for crop production and
freshwater resources
- climate change is expected to have a corresponding impact on incomes,
worsening poverty, and the ability of households to invest in a better future,
forcing them to use up meager saving just to survive
- climate change is expected to cause further increases in global food prices
and continue to drive people out from their homes within countries across
borders in search of food, water, and livelihoods
82
- many crops reliant on irrigation are requiring greater amounts of water as
temperatures rise, while the availability of freshwater resources is being
threatened by rising seas levels that cause saltwater intrusion in groundwater
The issues confronting global food security are shaped by the interplay of demographic,
socio-economic, environmental, and policy-related factors. In order to respond to these
challenges, nation-states, organizations, and other actors need to strengthen and
further develop agricultural knowledge, science and technology, and supporting
policies and institutions. We have yet to achieve the four key dimensions of food
security to be able to provide for the current generations and the generations to come.
The human agency plays a key role in the process of achieving global food security
and championing the “zero hunger” goal. Our mundane yet very relevant relationship with
the environment, our diets, consumption patterns, and purchasing power have an impact
on how we move towards sustainability and global food security. Of course, human agency
is just a fraction. Structural, institutional, and systemic changes must be undertaken to fully
ensure a sustainable and secure future not only for human beings but for the natural world
that houses them. We are yet to champion socio-economic and political justice,
sustainability, and food security in the contemporary world.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
On global food security:
The diet that helps fight climate change
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUnJQWO4YJY )
Food waste is the world's dumbest problem
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RlxySFrkIM)
Food security of world’s poorest communities threatened by Covid-19 pandemic,
warns UN food body (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0eAN1m0TK8)
Why beef is the worst food for the climate
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lrJYTsKdUM)
Ensuring food security in the time of pandemic | ANC
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xIPYMt7rxY)
Food Security in an Insecure World | Future of Food
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jvRB8U8vEw )
A global food crisis may be less than a decade away | Sara Menker
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzA6jRYjVQs )
83
ASSESSMENT
CAMPAIGN-MAKING
Given the issues the population of the world faces in relation to global food
security, civil awareness and involvement plays a significant role in calling out
injustices in the corporate food regimes, raising awareness on environmental
degradation in relation to food production and consumption, and coming up
with alternatives that can promote global food security, among others. As we
problematize on food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition, we can start
contributing to the mitigation of these through our human agency (our choices,
decisions, ethical consumption patterns, and involvement to call out injustices
and make the perpetrators accountable).
For this activity, create a slogan or campaign that is anchored on the status
and challenges of global food security. The slogan can be a persuasive
material to raise awareness on the conditions of hunger and malnutrition
people experience, or to encourage people to practice ethical food
consumerism (buying goods from local farmers rather than from
corporations). Include an illustration for the background of your slogan.
Format: in short bond paper (8.5 x 11); the slogan is at the center;
illustration as the background of the text (you can draw, paint, or digitally
make the background); your slogan should not exceed 15 words.
[slogan]
ASSESSMENT RUBRICS:
Background design and creativity: 20%
Syntax (how the phrase/sentence is constructed) and pragmatics (meaning)
creativity: 30%
Slogan content, adherence to the theme, and the idea/s forwarded: 50%
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TOPIC
1. Global Citizenship
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The discussions about the contemporary world through the lens of globalization
began with understanding interrelated macrostructures such as economy, politics, and
culture. As the lessons progress, the framework for looking at globalization vis-à-vis the
contemporary world shifts from macro- to micro-analysis. We began by understanding
globalization as a concept and as a process and proceeded to unravel the structures of
globalization, i.e. the global economy, interstate system, and contemporary global
governance. Apart from being a multidimensional process, globalization is inherently
uneven or unequal as well, the conceptualization of global divides and regionalism
attests to these. Moreover, globalization has created global media cultures and global
cities as hubs of globalizing processes closer to individuals and their homes. In terms of
globalization and the aspect of the human population, demographic transitions and
migration are evident on a global scale. Globalization has an impact on the environment
as well, and the challenges of sustainability and food security are pressing on.
These globalization processes and patterns are not abstract structures and
systems, the human agency plays a great part in creating globalization (before it
transcends to abstraction itself yet still material) and sustaining it. Our lives have been
tied to globalization processes. In an earlier discussion on global media cultures, we
note that we are global citizens of the world—the processes of globalization made us
one. But we may ask, what do we do as global citizens? How significant is our human
agency in the grand narrative of globalization in the contemporary world? And how do
we become ethical and just in dealing with the benefits and detriments of globalization?
The answers to these lie at understanding and practicing global citizenship.
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TOPIC 1: GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
The notion of global citizenship is largely anchored on the notion of global civil
society, and to understand what constitutes a global citizen necessitates the discussion
of the global civil society. It is impossible to make sense of global citizenship or what it
means to be a global citizen without understanding the context which makes it possible
for us to conceptualize one. The discussion on the global civil society already gives us
ideas on global citizenship.
To contextualize the topic and the discussion on global civil society vis-à-vis
global citizenship, it is important to note that many perspectives equate activists of
transnational social movements with the status of global citizens (Carter, 2001).
Accordingly, global civil society is perceived to be a product of the development of
transnational organizations pursuing professional and social interests as an important
feature of international politics (Carter, 2001: 77). Because global civil society is
international, it exists on different levels from interstate relationships. Global civil
society may appear as an amalgamation of campaigning transnational organizations and
volunteers committed to global causes (Carter, 2001: 78). Characterizing the global civil
society may prove more points.
Theorists of global civil society move from the focus on the state and economy as
what constitutes it to a focus on religious, educations, cultural, and leisure
institutions, professional bodies, interest groups and charities, campaigning
groups, and consumer groups.
The value of many institutions of civil society is their relative freedom from
governmental or partisan political influence.
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Although civil society is a sphere outside direct control, the nature of the state
defines the role and nature of the civil society. E.g. when the state is oppressive,
the civil society can react through resistance and/or siding with the oppressed.
Global civil society builds upon the autonomy of civil society bodies within their
nation-states and links them within a transnational realm independent of all
nation-states.
Global civil society can also partially substitute for and precede world governance.
The political significance of civil society depends on it including the growing
range of transnational trade unions, professional nongovernmental organizations
representing women, students, or young people.
Relation of global civil society to the nation-state:
a. Global civil society transcends state frontiers whenever transnational
networks or movements correspond, hold conferences, and plan common
action to promote social interests that unite them.
b. Global civil society poses a direct challenge to states when groups within one
country ignore or oppose official policies to create links with citizens in other
countries when they jointly campaign against their governments in support
of shared goals.
Global civil society promoting global world governance:
a. Global civil society strengthens international society as opposed to anarchy
between nation-states. Friendship and cooperation between peoples are
likely to encourage cooperation between governments.
b. Popular initiative to promote universal humanitarian goals strengthen the
political salience of principles of human solidarity or respect for human rights
—global civil society underpins and promotes emerging international law.
c. The role of many bodies within global civil society is to assist and lobby
international government organizations to promote goals of governmental
internationalism or cosmopolitanism.
Global civil society is creating a context for strong forms of international law and
global governance.
THE GLOBAL CITIZEN
According to Oxfam, “[a] global citizen is someone who is aware of and understands
the wider world—and their place in it. They take an active role in their community, and
work with others to make our planet more equal, fair, and sustainable.” In another
description, “global citizenship is all about encouraging young people to develop the
knowledge, skills, and values they need to engage with the world. And it's about the belief
that we can all make a difference” (Oxfam, n.d.). The descriptions are self-explanatory yet
encourage a deeper reflection and self-assessment. Are you aware and do you understand
the world and your place in it? Do you play an active role in your community? What are you
doing to forward equality, justice, and sustainability? How do you develop knowledge, skills,
values, and ethics to engage with the world? In what ways
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do you produce positive and lasting change that ripples throughout consciousness and
practices? More importantly, how do you know that you are a global citizen?
Just like any sense of citizenship, global citizenship through the global civil society
perpetuates a way of life that weighs ethics in the multidimensional and uneven process
88
of globalization. With our exposure and contribution to the different facets of
globalization, it is evident that we have roles to play. It takes awareness, participation,
and action to live by the ways of social citizenship. We are called to become active
agents of positive change—champion human rights and gender equality, mitigate
environmental degradation and become ecological citizens, become ethical consumers,
and help put an end to any kind of oppression. These appear as big responsibilities but
these are obligations that come with becoming more aware, emphatic, and progressive.
In the words of Carter (2001), “a global citizen is someone who consciously adopts this
role and is committed to social justice, diversity, sustainable economic development
respecting the environment, and to a peaceful world” (p. 96).
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
More on global citizenship:
Civil Society | Shaping A Future Where People Matter
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vUrvugQrmk)
What does it mean to be a citizen of the world? | Hugh Evans
(https://youtu.be/ODLg_00f9BE)
Global citizenship is… (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVSgbU6WVSk)
Learning to live together in peace through Global Citizenship Education
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuKzq9EDt-0 )
The Benefits of Global Citizenship
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Jy2iPfVX8 )
TASK/ACTIVITY
This is a free association exercise of ideas. All you have to do is list all ideas you
associate with “global citizenship”. Based on the concepts you listed, synthesize
your personal definition of the concept. After this, list the obligations of a global
citizen (what do you think are the responsibilities of a global citizen, what
obligations these people hold, how are they benefiting the world). Accomplish
this activity in one whole sheet of paper.
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ASSESSMENT
“I AM A GLOBAL CITIZEN”
For your final activity, through an essay, a poem, a video, a drawing, or a mind
map, try to answer the question:
What does it mean to be a citizen of the world? Or, what does it mean to be a
Filipino and a citizen of the world? How can you become an ethical global
citizen?
This activity is adopted from the learning activity for “Conclusion: The Global Filipino” in The
Contemporary World textbook (Claudio & Abinales, 2018: 134).
ASSESSMENT RUBRICS:
Quality of content: 30%
Ideas, arguments, points, and philosophies forwarded: 50%
Creativity, : 20%
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