An Introduction to Global Studies E-Book

Patricia J. Campbell

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 970

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Taking an interdisciplinary approach, An Introduction to Global Studies presents readers with a solid introduction to the complex, interconnected forces and issues confronting today's globalized world.

• Introduces readers to major theories, key terms, concepts, and notable theorists
• Equips readers with the basic knowledge and conceptual tools necessary for thinking critically about the complex issues facing the global community
• Includes a variety of supplemental features to facilitate learning and enhance readers' understanding of the material

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Cover

Half Title Page

Title Page

Copyright

List of Tables

List of Figures

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Going Global

Chapter 2: Nation-State System

Chapter 3: International Organizations

Chapter 4: Human Rights

Chapter 5: The Natural Environment

Chapter 6: Population and Consumption

Chapter 7: Infectious Disease and Globalization

Chapter 8: The Gendered World

Chapter 9: Information and Communication Technologies

Chapter 10: War and Violent Conflict

Chapter 11: Peace

Glossary

Index

BRIEF CONTENTS

Cover

Half Title Page

Title Page

Copyright

List of Tables

List of Figures

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Going Global

Introduction

Why Global Studies?

What We Talk About When We Talk About Globalization

Dimensions of Globalization

In Focus: Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations”

Global Citizenship: Rights, Responsibility, Inequalities, and Connections

Conclusion

Notes

Chapter 2: Nation-State System

Introduction

Nations, States, and the Nation-state System

Emergence of the Nation-state System

Struggling States

The Nation-state’s Challenges and Competitors

In Focus: Terrorists

Conclusion

Notes

Chapter 3: International Organizations

Introduction

Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

In Focus: Amnesty International

Conclusion

Notes

Chapter 4: Human Rights

Introduction

Where Do Human Rights Come From?

Human Rights in the Modern Era

In Focus: What Is Torture?

How Are Human Rights Monitored and Enforced?

Emerging Human Rights

Human Rights and Non-State Actors

Human Rights Abuses: Why They Affect Us All

Conclusion

Notes

Chapter 5: The Natural Environment

Introduction

Global Climate Change

In Focus: Chico Mendes and Brazil’s Rubber-tappers

Ongoing Global Environmental Challenges

Waste Production

Environmental Discrimination

International Environmental Protection Efforts

Conclusion

Notes

Chapter 6: Population and Consumption

Introduction

Global Population

Population Pressures

Consumption

Global Consumption Patterns

In Focus: Population Growth, Aging, and Consumption in the Land of the Lonely Hearts Club

Conclusion

Notes

Chapter 7: Infectious Disease and Globalization

Introduction

Microbes and Infectious Diseases: A Brief Overview

Infectious Disease and Globalization: The Current Picture

In Focus: AIDS and Globalization

The Global Fight against Infectious Disease: Current Challenges

Conclusion

Notes

Chapter 8: The Gendered World

Introduction

Defining Our Terms

Gender, Poverty, and Development

United Nations

In Focus: Microcredit

Labor and Migration

Human Security and Human Rights

Education and Health

Conclusion

Notes

Chapter 9: Information and Communication Technologies

Introduction

Information and Communication Technologies

The Information Age

Networked: The Impact of the Internet

The Digital Divide

In-Focus: Internet Censorship

New Media

Conclusion

Notes

Chapter 10: War and Violent Conflict

Introduction

When Does Violent Conflict Become War?

Types of War and Violent Conflict

In Focus: Geno/Politicide Risk Factors

War and Pre-history

The History of War

Causes of War

Ethical and Legal Dimensions of War

In Focus: Private Military Companies

The Costs of War

Conclusion

Notes

Chapter 11: Peace

Introduction

What Constitutes Peace? Defining Our Terms

Origins of the Modern Peace Movement

Waging Peace

Global Connections: The Personal Dimension of Peace

In Focus: United Fruit

Conclusion

Notes

Glossary

Index

An Introduction to Global Studies

This edition first published 2010© 2010 Patricia J. Campbell, Aran MacKinnon, and Christy R. Stevens

Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell.

Registered OfficeJohn Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom

Editorial Offices350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148–5020, USA9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UKThe Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell.

The right of Patricia J. Campbell, Aran MacKinnon, and Christy R. Stevens to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataCampbell, Patricia J.An introduction to global studies / Patricia J. Campbell, Aran MacKinnon, and Christy R. Stevens. p. cm.Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 978-1-4051-8737-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-1-4051-8736-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)1. Globalization. I. MacKinnon, Aran S. II. Stevens, Christy. III. Title.JZ1318.C356 2010303.48′2-dc22

2009041790

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

TABLES

2.1 The World’s 100 Largest Economies (2000)

3.1 UN ECOSOC Agencies

3.2 Secretary-Generals of the United Nations

3.3 Payments Owed to the UN by the 15 Major Debtor Countries:2007 (in US$ millions)

3.4 List of UN Peacekeeping Operations 1948–2008

3.5 NATO Members

3.6 OAS Member States

3.7 Arab League Member States and Observers

4.1 UN High Commissioners for the Office of the United NationsHigh Commissioner for Human Rights

4.2 International Criminal Court

5.1 The Top 20 Carbon Dioxide Emitters (2004)

5.2 International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List ofThreatened Species, 2008

5.3 Persistent Organic Pollutants

6.1 World Population Milestones

6.2 Estimated Total Fertility for the World, the Major DevelopmentGroups, and the Major Areas

6.3 International Migrants by Major Area, 1960–2000

7.1 Examples of Drug-Resistant Infectious Agents and Percentage ofInfections that are Drug-Resistant by Country or Region

7.2 Emergent Diseases Identified Since 1973

7.3 HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria – The Basic Facts, 2000

7.4 Basic Concepts in Disease Emergence

7.5 World Megacities 1975, 2000, and (projected) 2015: Population in Millions

7.6 Passenger Traffic, 2005

8.1 Organizations with a Focus on Women

8.2 UN Treaties Specific to Women

9.1 History and Growth of the Internet

9.2 Internet Users, 2002–2005

9.3 Demographics of Social Network Users

9.4 Demographics of US Internet Users

9.5 Top Ranked ICT Development Countries, 2007

9.6 Lowest Ranked ICT Development Countries, 2007

10.1 Countries Involved in the Most Inter-state Conflicts, 1946–2003

10.2 One-Sided Violence by Region, 1989–2004

10.3 World War I Casualties and Costs

10.4 World War II Casualties and Costs

10.5 Selected Treaties Relating to the Laws of War

10.6 Violent War Deaths from 1955 to 2002

10.7 Battle and Total War Deaths in Selected African Conflicts

10.8 Defense Expenditures of NATO Countries, 2007

11.1 Agencies of the UN

11.2 Human Development Index (HDI) Ranking, 2006

FIGURES

2.1 Countries that Received the Most Migrants in 2005

4.1 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

5.1 Sources of Methane Gas

5.2 Ogallala Aquifer

5.3 The Aral Sea, 1960–2004

6.1 World Population Growth Rates: 1950–2050

6.2 Total Fertility Rate and Life Expectancy at Birth: World, 1950–2050

6.3 Calorie Availability: Developed vs. Developing Countries

8.1 Employment by Sector by Gender, 1998 and 2008

8.2 Percentage of Primary School Age Boys and Girls Out of School

8.3 Maternal Mortality by Region, 2005

9.1 Internet Users by Age Group, 2005

9.2 Mobile Cellular Subscriptions, 2007

9.3 Internet Users Per 100 Inhabitants, 2007

10.1 One-Sided Violence by Region, 1989–2004

10.2 Conflicts with the Largest Battle Death Totals

10.3 Battle and Total War Deaths in Selected African Conflicts

10.4 Defense Expenditures of NATO Countries, 2007

PREFACE

While the field of Global Studies is relatively new, its subject matter is old in the sense that humans around the world have always been connected through multiple layers of culture, trade, travel, migration, ecology, etc. It is only recently, however, that the academy has caught up with this reality. The academy’s slowness in making the various globalization processes and effects the object of interdisciplinary analysis is due in part to organizational structures in higher education, many of which encourage disciplines to be protective of their boundaries. Despite such barriers, the interdisciplinary nature of so many of the major issues facing the world at the beginning of the twenty-first century has pushed against, and is increasingly breaking through, some of those long-standing disciplinary boundaries. The emergence of Global Studies as a distinct interdisciplinary field occurred at a time when globalization was increasingly and profoundly affecting multiple areas of people’s everyday lives. Scholars and students have found that Global Studies enhances our understanding of global phenomena by bringing the methodologies and discourses from a variety of disciplines to bear on many of the most pressing issues of our day. Global Studies makes connections not only among various disciplines but also between the local and the global, and oneself and others. For example, while we might not make the immediate connection between what we think of as a personal action, such as reaching for our cell phones, and a conflict occurring on the other side of the world, like the conflict in Central Africa, Global Studies provides a framework that allows us to explore the ways in which the personal is global and the global is highly personal. To journey through this book is to explore these connections.

We start in chapter 1 by providing an overview of what constitutes Global Studies. The historical context for the evolution of the field is discussed in concert with competing conceptualizations of globalization. Various dimensions of globalization are addressed, including economic, political, and cultural processes. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the term “global citizenship” and its relationship to ideas like belonging, civic responsibility, and civic engagement.

Chapter 2 presents the historical background to the development of the nation-state as the primary social, political, and economic organizing structure of human society. The expansion of the nation-state from Europe via colonialism is traced. The chapter also outlines some of the internal and external threats facing the modern nation-state, including social cleavages like ethno-nationalism, cultural complexities posed by migration, as well as the dynamic nature of the roles played by international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and multinational corporations. The chapter concludes by exploring the increasing number of marginal and failed states and the dangers and opportunities these present.

Chapter 3 delves much deeper into the structure, roles, and relationships between international organizations and the nation-state. The historical background for the development of international organizations is presented, followed by a detailed examination of the major international organizations operating in the world today, including the UN, the WTO, and various regional organizations, such as the EU. The chapter ends with a discussion of the evolution of non-governmental organizations and the changing nature of the roles they play both within countries and within the international arena.

Human rights is the focus of chapter 4. The chapter begins with a discussion of the evolution of human rights, the various schools of thought that undergird human rights, and the key founding documents of the modern human rights movement. This is followed by an exploration of the debates over different interpretations of human rights, including, for example, disagreements about whether human rights are universal or must be tempered with respect to cultural norms. The monitoring and enforcement of human rights follows this discussion, with a particular focus on transnational justice mechanisms such as the International Criminal Court. Evolving notions of humanitarian intervention are also discussed, including the “right to protect” (R2P). Finally, newer human rights discourses are considered, including the right to water, sexual rights, and the right to one’s own genetic material.

Perhaps more than the previous chapters, chapter 5 drives home the inter-connectedness that characterizes our modern world. It begins with a detailed discussion of global climate change, including its causes and impacts. Other ongoing global environmental challenges are also discussed, such as the increasingly precarious situation facing the global water supply, the health impacts of air pollution, increasing plant and animal extinction rates, and the environmental impacts of waste production. The chapter concludes with a discussion of environmental discrimination. Woven throughout the chapter are discussions of various strategies being developed and deployed in an effort to improve the global environment.

Chapter 6 investigates the relationship between population and consumption patterns. The chapter begins by describing current population statistics and projections, including the demographic issues they will produce. The word’s population is estimated to grow to 9 billion by 2040. This growth will bring with it serious challenges, particularly when it comes to issues of poverty, urbanization, and migration. Providing the basic necessities for so many people poses an equally serious challenge to the environment. Debates about and strategies for meeting theseneeds are the focus of the second half of the chapter, and it ends with an investigation of global consumption patterns.

From “swine flu” to SARS to AIDS, infectious diseases demonstrate how advances in technology and improved modes of travel and communication can help both to spread disease and to track, treat, and quarantine it. The first section of chapter 7 traces the history of infectious diseases, exploring the interactions between globalization and infectious diseases as well as the relationship between human interaction with the environment and the evolution and spread of disease. Disease in the context of migration, air travel, food production, and urbanization are discussed as examples of our global connectedness. The chapter concludes with a survey of the current challenges posed by infectious diseases, including treatment questions that arise over the availability of pharmaceuticals.

Chapter 8 explores the world through the lens of gender. It begins by defining its terms before launching into a detailed discussion of some of the ways in which globalization affects women and men differently. The intersection of gender, poverty, and development are then discussed, with a special focus on some of the labor and migration issues that have emerged in our globalized world. Human security and human rights issues that are particularly pressing for women are the chapter’s next focus, including an overview of some of the UN’s efforts to integrate gender analysis and gender equality into its mission and programs. The chapter concludes with a discussion of education and health issues that affect women, their families, and the communities in which they reside.

The fast pace of globalization is perhaps best illustrated in chapter 9, which focuses on information and communication technologies (ICTs). The chapter explores the relationship between ICTs and evolving conceptions of the Information Age and the Digital Age. It then looks at the emergence of networks and the communication changes that networks like the Internet and the World Wide Web have engendered. The web allows us instantly to connect with people around the world, breaking down traditional space/time barriers and opening up new avenues for both economic development and global citizenship. The chapter concludes by looking at the relationship between “new media” and globalization.

The final two chapters focus on war and peace. Chapter 10 traces the history of violent conflict and then looks at both its causes and attempts to prevent it. The chapter ends with an examination of some of the costs of war, including human casualties, environmental destruction, economic damage, and the diversion of resources from development to supporting the war machine. Chapter 11 moves us from war to peace, beginning with an exploration of the history of peace movements. It discusses peaceful forms of conflict resolution and ends with a focus on organizations that work to eradicate violent social conditions that are antithetical to peace.

Each chapter endeavors to provide readers with a thorough understanding of the competing approaches that scholars bring to bear on the topics presented. Instead of prescribing solutions, the book asks questions and presents multiple perspectives, encouraging readers to think critically about the issues presented and to comeaway with a better understanding of how connected we all are to one another. If our readers find themselves wondering about things like how their cell phones were made, who made them, and under what working conditions, how the materials were extracted that make up their parts, and where those materials are likely to go once they dispose of the phone, then we have succeeded in our mission.

The chapters also contain a number of special features. Each chapter begins with a series of thought-provoking quotations from notable people designed to get readers thinking about the complexities revolving around the chapter’s main topic. These are followed by questions that frame the chapter. Students should be able to formulate thoughtful responses to each of these questions after having read the chapter. All the chapters also contain “Researching to Learn” sections that provide students with research ideas, sample search strategies, and authoritative academic resources, such as relevant websites and important primary and secondary sources on selected topics. Additionally, the chapters contain various graphs, charts, and tables designed to illustrate key points and to appeal to visual learners. Each chapter contains an “In Focus” section that provides a specific real-world example illustrating one of the chapter’s themes. Each chapter ends with a conclusion that draws together the key themes.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to express our appreciation to editors and staff at Wiley-Blackwell who were instrumental in helping us complete this book.

Patricia J. Campbell: I would like to thank my family, especially my parents Barbara and Gerald, for their love and support (I promise not to worry about it Dad), and Christy for her endless patience and seemingly endless constructive feedback.

Aran MacKinnon: For my brother Gregor, for all his inspiration and because he so loves the world. Wonderful world, beautiful people. This book is also for Kieran, Alistair, and Duncan, brave new global citizens.

Christy R. Stevens: I would like to thank Patricia for bringing me in on this project and enduring my feedback and revisions with grace and good humor.

Chapter 1

GOING GLOBAL

“As a society becomes more enlightened, it realizes that it is responsible not to transmit and conserve the whole of its existing achievements, but only such as make for a better future society. The school is the chief agency for the accomplishment of this end.” (John Dewey, Democracy and Education, 1916)1

“The world is my country; to do good my religion.” (Motto of American political theorist and writer Thomas Paine, 1737–1809)2

“Humanity is interwoven by many threads, and they grow stronger and longer each day. Professionals increasingly link their fortunes with those from afar, while significant challenges and problems transcend boundary lines. In an age of information overflow, though, it can be difficult to connect the dots and adapt to all that’s new. To survive and succeed, individuals must increase their understanding of this interconnected world. And they must embrace global perspectives and viewpoints, for their own sake as much as for the benefit of humanity.” (From J. Michael Adams and Angelo Carfagna, Coming of Age in a Globalized World)3

Learning to Question, Questioning to Learn

How is global studies similar to/different from other fields?What are some of the various definitions of globalization?Is globalization a “good” or “bad” thing?Is globalization a new phenomenon or is it an extension and acceleration of processes that have been going on throughout human history?How does the concept of global citizenship differ from traditional definitions of citizenship?

Introduction

Global Studies. Globalization. Global Citizenship. This chapter explores these three terms in depth, beginning with a discussion of the emergence of global studies as a field of study in academic institutions around the world. Next, the chapter presents a working definition of globalization, describing some of its most prominent characteristics. It then looks at economic, political, and cultural globalization processes separately and in greater depth. The chapter ends with a discussion of global citizenship, comparing it with traditional definitions of citizenship and considering how it might function as a useful category in today’s globalizing world.

Why Global Studies?

The word “global” is used a lot these days. From “the global war on terror” to “global climate change,” we are growing more accustomed to viewing issues, activities, processes, ideas, problems, and solutions in global rather than in solely local or national terms. For example, today, more than ever before, communication is global. The Internet, email, blogs, RSS feeds, satellites, cell phones, webcams, and various electronic handheld devices allow human beings all over the world to connect with each other instantaneously, breaking down the barriers of time and space that have isolated (to varying degrees) individuals and communities from each other in the past. Today, more than ever before, business is also global. Take Subaru, the car company, as a fairly typical example. A small number of the Japanese cars were first imported into the US in 1968. Today, the company’s “Subaru Global” website reveals that, though it is still headquartered in Japan, it now has many facilities all over the globe, including the United States, Canada, Europe, Singapore, and China.4 And today, more than ever before, health and environmental problems are global. Human beings all over the world are contributing to problems (global climate change being an important example) that affect the entire globe and that can only be effectively responded to by coordinated global action.

The academic field of global studies emerged in this contemporary globalizing context, as scholars increasingly grappled with changes that were rapidly shrinking the globe and intensifying social, political, and economic connections. Initially, scholars seeking to understand these issues tended to do so within the framework of their specific disciplines. Even though global issues tend to go beyond the scope of any single discipline, the discipline-specific approach was used because of the way academic institutions are traditionally organized. Academic disciplines are among the most entrenched divisions in colleges and universities, serving as the basis for academic departments, professional associations, and scholarly journals. Scholars who earn a PhD in the discipline of philosophy, for example, havetraditionally tended to apply for jobs in philosophy departments, write articles for publication in philosophy journals using the language and theoretical frameworks accepted by the field of philosophy, and join professional philosophy associations, such as the American Philosophical Association. As such, it makes sense that scholars tended initially to approach globalization solely through the frameworks of their specific disciplines. Over time, however, many began arguing persuasively that globalization involves too many different types of forces and issues for it to be understood adequately through the lens of any single discipline. This realization led scholars to begin reaching across disciplinary boundaries to study global issues in new ways and to develop global studies courses and programs in collaboration with colleagues from various academic departments.

disciplines Most often used to refer to the division of fields of knowledge at the university or college level.

Today, global studies is establishing itself as an academic field of study in its own right, with institutes,5 associations,6 academic conferences,7 and degree-granting programs8 emerging around the world with increasing frequency since the 1990s. Most academic pursuits that have adopted the “global studies” label are developed around the idea that this is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary enterprise.9 That is, global studies attempts to understand the world by looking at it from multiple perspectives (multidisciplinary), drawing upon the insights and theoretical frameworks of various academic fields, such as history, political science, international relations, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and economics. In addition, global studies also seeks to make connections between those different perspectives – to understand how they are related and how they might fit together as part of a larger whole (interdisciplinary).

multidisciplinary Drawing upon different disciplinary perspectives without necessarily exploring the connections or blurring the boundaries among them.

interdisciplinary Integrating the theories, methodologies, and insights of various disciplines and exploring the connections and blurring the boundaries among them.

Global studies students and scholars analyze the social, political, and economic processes and transformations that affect not only the world as a whole but also individual localities in particular, complex, and sometimes contradictory ways. Global studies also generally foregrounds an active ethical component that tends not to be as prominent in many other disciplines. In other words, global studies students and scholars often explicitly seek out ways to connect academics with action; their desire to understand global issues is inextricably linked to their desire to discover effective ways of improving the world.10 Edward Kolodziej, Director of the Center for Global Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, argues that exploring and devising new ways to meet the needs of the world’s diverse populations is one of the central concerns of global studies programs. He points to the spread of weapons of mass destruction, viral infections, ecological disasters, and human rights as examples of global issues that are appropriate for both study and action within the global studies framework.11 Similarly, David Jacobson and Ning Wang, Professor and Assistant Professor of Global Studies respectively at Arizona State University, observe that the questions and problems addressed in global studies classrooms are not simply academic in nature; rather, issues such as the environment and cultural conflict are “pressing global challenges” that demand”more effective policy.”12 In short, global studies is designed to educate people who are interested in finding solutions to these kinds of global problems, or, put another way, in making the world a better place. Many programs make this goal explicit through mission statements that profess a commitment to developing global citizens,13 a term we will return to at the end of the chapter.

global citizens People who see their local actions as having global consequences and who have accepted that they have a responsibility to work to better the conditions of the world and its people.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Globalization

Global studies emerged in the context of and in response to globalization. But what exactly are we talking about when we talk about globalization? “Globalization” is a relatively new term. Although it made its dictionary debut in 1961,14 it was rarely used until the 1980s, when it began appearing in academic literature with increasing frequency.15 The term entered into common parlance in the 1990s, and today is “deployed across disciplines, across the world, across theoretical approaches, and across the political spectrum.”16 Despite the pervasiveness of the term today, it remains ambiguous and contested, perhaps because it is used in many different ways to support a variety of competing interests. Some believe globalization is intrinsically “good,” others believe it is inherently “bad,” and still others assert that while it is intrinsically neither good nor bad, it can have both positive and negative effects. Some conflate globalization with internationalization, while others equate it with Westernization. Some view globalization as a new phenomenon driven primarily by new technologies, such as satellites, cell phones, and the Internet, while others see it as an extension of ongoing processes that encompass all of human history. Scholars from a variety of disciplines have weighed in on the term, developing their own definitions of, and theories about, globalization. Manfred B. Steger, a Professor of Global Studies at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, has developed a particularly useful definition that synthesizes the definitions of a number of prominent scholars.17According to Steger: “Globalization refers to a multidimensional set of social processes that create, multiply, stretch, and intensify worldwide social interdependencies and exchanges while at the same time fostering in people a growing awareness of deepening connections between the local and the distant.”18 Because Steger’s definition is complex and multifaceted, it is useful to explore some its component parts in greater depth.

globalization A complex web of social processes that intensify and expand worldwide economic, cultural, political, and technological exchanges and connections.

Westernization Process whereby non-Western countries and societies adopt social, legal, dietetic, religious, technological, linguistic, political, and economic ideals and norms of countries in the Western world – Western Europe and the US.

Globalization as series of social processes

The first important part of Steger’s definition is that globalization is not an event, a singular process, or monolithic entity; rather, globalization consists of multiple, ongoing, interdependent actions and operations. It’s also important to note that these processes are social (i.e., they relate to human society, its members, organizational patterns, and relationships). Additionally, these social processes are generative, meaning that they create and expand networks of connections. Steger points out that these networks “increasingly overcome traditional political, economic, cultural, and geographical boundaries.”19

social Refers to the way humans interact and organize.

Deterritorialization

Other scholars use the term deterritorialization to refer to the ways that networks of connections are transcending traditional boundaries. The term foregrounds the idea that in a globalized world, many social activities and exchanges can take place without geography functioning as a constraint. In other words, territory, defined as a geographically identifiable space, is no longer the only locale in which social activity can occur.20 Roland Robertson, for example, Professor of Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh, has described globalization as “the compression of the world,”21 and Malcolm Waters, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Tasmania, Australia, has referred to it as “a social process in which the constraints of geography on social and cultural arrangements recede.”22 The Internet is a classic example of a deterritorializing technology, allowing people to communicate in real time with other individuals and groups around the world via text, audio, and video.

deterritorialization Geographical territory, or place, becomes less of a constraint on social interactions.

Deterritorialization also means that “people, services and goods are available to each other across the globe through a variety of means and in increasingly immediate ways.”23 For example, you might go online to purchase a laptop that was originally designed in Cupertino, California, but mass-produced in Changshu, China. A call to the company to learn more about the product might connect you with a customer service representative located in Bangalore, India. If you were to decide to purchase the laptop, your order would likely print out in a warehouse half a world away only minutes or even seconds after clicking the “Buy Now” button. Within two or three days, the laptop would arrive on your doorstep. From the consumer perspective, the process seems quick and easy, but that “simple” consumer experience is the product of a complex worldwide network of technologies, processes, and exchanges that are deterritorializing the globe.

Interconnectedness: the local and the global

Steger’s definition of globalization also highlights connections between the local and the global. In an interconnected world, distant events and forces can have a profound impact on local endeavors.24 Unexpected connections frequently emerge, some of which may be experienced positively by most who are affected by the connection, and others of which have devastating consequences for one or more affected groups. The link between consumer demand for electronic devices and a bloody civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one such tragic example. This connection between war and electronics emerged because the DRC holds 80 percent of the world’s coltan reserves. Though not a household word, columbite-tantalite, or coltan for short, has become one of the world’s most valued materials. Refined coltan produces tantalum, a metal powder used in the production of capacitors, which are critical components in electronic devices like cell phones and laptop computers. One might think that the abundance of such a valuable mineral would benefit the DRC, but, unfortunately, coltan has been mined by warring rebel groups and used to finance a devastating civil war. The conflict, which started in 1998, has claimed more than 4 million lives.25 Although peace was proclaimed in 2003 with the establishment of a transitional government, much of the east of the country has remained insecure, contributing to the continuation of what researchers have called “the world’s deadliest humanitarian crisis.”26

In addition to shocking death rates, the pursuit of coltan has led to mass displacements, as rebels attacked villages and drove families from their homes in order to exploit their coltan-rich land. Coltan mining has also contributed to environmental destruction, including the massacre of endangered gorillas and the destruction of habitat in the DRC’s national parks.27 The chaos within the DRC has also allowed neighboring countries to violate the DRC’s borders in order to mine the mineral for themselves. Rwanda, for example, has been strongly criticized for its role in plundering the DRC’s valuable asset.28 It is difficult to trace coltan mined by rebels and foreign militaries in the DRC on its convoluted route through coltan processing companies, capacitor manufacturers, and high-tech assembly factories. As a result, it is generally impossible to ascertain whether the electronic device you currently use everyday or the one you are thinking about purchasing is in any way related to the human rights abuses in the DRC. There can be no doubt, however, that consumer demand for these high-tech products has helped rebels to fund conflicts that have had many devastating consequences for the DRC’s people, animals, and environment.

Researching to Learn The Conflict in the DRC

Sample Keyword Searches

Broad search: war AND DRC

Narrower searches:

coltan AND DRC AND environment“rebel groups” AND DRC AND electronics

Advanced search: (“Democratic Republic of Congo” OR DRC) AND (coltan OR columbite-tantalite) AND (electronics OR “cell phones”)

Note:

Use quotation marks to search for terms as a phrase.Use AND to find documents with all terms listed.Use OR to find documents that contains at least one of the terms.Use parentheses to combine AND and OR statements in creative ways.

Free Web Resources

Bureau of African Affairs, US Department of State. “Background Note: Democratic Republic of Congo.” US Department of State. April 2008. www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2823.htm

Cox, Stan. “War, Murder, Rape … All for Your Cell Phone.” Global Policy Forum. www.alternet.org/story/41477/

“Gold Keeps War in the DRC on the Boil.” Global Policy Forum. www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/congo/2005/0307risevalue.htm

“NGOs Call for Embargo on Coltan from DRC War Zones.” Global Policy Forum. www.globalpolicy.org/security/natres/generaldebate/2002/0114coltan.htm

“Population, Health, and Human Well-Being – Dem. Rep. of the Congo.” EarthTrends Country Profiles. http://earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_library/country_profiles/pop_cou_180.pdf

Sanders, Jay O., Fred de Sam Lazaro, Kathryn Taverna, and Frank Keraudren, “Democracy in the Rough.” Wide Angle: Human Stories. Global Issues. www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/congo/video.html

Ware, Natalie D., “Congo War and the Role of Coltan.” ICE Case Studies. The Inventory of Conflict and Environment (ICE), American University, The School of International Service. www.american.edu/ted/ice/congo-coltan.htmThe World Factbook, “Congo, Democratic Republic of the.” CIA. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html

Books: Find Them @ Your Library

Arnson, Cynthia and William I. Zartman. Rethinking the Economics of War: The Intersection of Need, Creed, and Greed. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.

de Torrente, Nicolas, Simon Robinson, and James Nachtwey. Forgotten War: Democratic Republic of the Congo. Millbrook, NY: de.Mo (Design Method of Operation), 2006.

Gourevitch, Philip. We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed with our Families: Stories from Rwanda. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998.

Lind, Jeremy and Kathryn Sturman. Scarcity and Surfeit: The Ecology of Africa’s Conflicts. Pretoria, South Africa: Institute for Security Studies, 2002.

Nabudere, D. Wadada. Africa’s First World War: Mineral Wealth, Conflicts and War in the Great Lakes Region. Pretoria, South Africa: African Association of Political Science, 2004.

Nest, Michael. The Democratic Republic of Congo: Economic Dimensions of War and Peace. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2006.

Articles: Find Them @ Your Library

Draulans, Dirk and Ellen Van Krunkelsven. “The Impact of War on Forest Areas on the Democratic Republic of Congo.” Oryx 36 (2002): 35–40.

Lalji, Nadira. “The Resource Curse Revised.” Harvard International Review 29.3 (Fall 2007): 34–7.

Montague, Dena. “Stolen Goods: Coltan and Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” SAIS Review 22.1 (Winter–Spring 2002): 103–18.

Naftalin, Mark. “The Congo Wars: Conflict, Myth and Reality.” Journal of Peace Research 45.1 (January 2008): 125–6.

Tull, Dents M. “The Democratic Republic of Congo: Economic Dimensions of War and Peace.” Journal of Modern African Studies 45.3 (September 2007): 474–6.

“Who Benefits from the Minerals?” The Economist. September 22, 2007: 62.

Compressing time

Another common theme frequently discussed by globalization scholars is the compression of time. Globalization disrupts not only traditional spatial boundaries but also temporal ones, increasing the velocity of social activity. For example, high-speed communication and transportation technologies compress time, enabling “fast flows and movements of people, information, capital, and goods.”29Moore’s Law provides an example of this acceleration, illustrating how the compression of space and time are often linked. In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors that could be put on a chip would double every year. In 1975, he updated his prediction to every two years, and it has remained a guiding principle for the semiconductor industry.30 The effort to put more transistors on a chip meant that the transistors themselves would have continually to get smaller, but it also meant that processing power would continually increase, making computers faster. Indeed, computers have continued to get smaller and faster at an astonishing rate, allowing information to circle the globe in seconds. News, personal communication, and the exchange of goods and services have all been speeding up as well.

Moore’s Law Observation made by Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of Intel, that the number of transistors that can be placed on a circuit will double approximately every two years. It is also used more generally to refer to the rapid pace of technological change in the late 20th century.

New phenomena or old news?

Clearly, the accelerations discussed above were made possible by the development of new technologies. The Internet in particular has intensified and extended global connections and interdependencies since coming to prominence in the 1990s. Many scholars are quick to point out, however, that although the technologies that have accelerated globalization in recent years are new, the processes of globalization have a much longer history. How far back can we trace the processes of globalization? This remains an open question. The answer depends upon how far back one is interested in tracing the history of human migration, social networks, and technological innovation. One early globalization milestone was the settling of all five continents, a feat accomplished approximately 12,000 years ago when hunter-gatherers first reached the tip of South America, thus accomplishing “the truly global dispersion of our species.”31 The invention of writing between 3500 and 2000 BCE32 and the invention of the wheel around 3000 BCE are also frequently cited as important moments in the history of globalization, as they were crucial developments that facilitated technological progress and social exchanges. Other significant globalization developments include the establishment of trading routes, such as the Silk Road, which linked the Chinese and Roman Empires, and the development of boats that could withstand long ocean voyages, establishing trade networks among some of the most populous regions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. These trade routes in turn triggered waves of migration, leading to population increases in urban centers.33

Other scholars point to the Early Modern Period, from 1500 to 1750, as particularly important in the history of globalization. During this period, European monarchs financed the exploration of “new worlds” and the development of trading posts, laying the groundwork for colonialism. The Early Modern Period also was marked by the development of the nation-state system and connections among these states.34 Later, the European settling of the Americas paved the way for industry and expanded trade.

Nineteenth-century innovations in transportation and communication, such as the railroad and the telegraph, further extended and accelerated globalization. Eventually, twentieth-century forms of mass media, including newspapers, movies, radio, television, and magazines, developed the capacity to deliver information to millions of people, radically compressing time and space. In addition to dramatic technological advances, devastating world wars also marked the twentieth century and heightened our sense of connectedness, albeit in a much darker way. The Cold War that followed World War II further dramatized our interconnectedness through the introduction of the specter of planet-wide annihilation. Never before had political and ideological tensions between two countries, in this case the United States and the Soviet Union, posed such a threat to the future of humanity and the health of the planet.35

colonialism One territorial sovereign exerting control and sovereignty over another land by usurping control from local leaders, thereby destroying indigenous culture, economies, and political structures.

nation-state system Refers to the division of the world into sovereign territories over which local rulers maintain the power to govern. Also known as the Westphalian model.

mass media Media that is designed to reach a mass audience, such as the population of a nation-state. The term has traditionally referred to nationwide television and radio networks and mass-circulation newspapers and magazines.

Cold War Refers to the ideological stand-off between two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, from 1945 to 1989. While not directly fighting one another, each side sought to expand its influence by keeping the other from spreading its form of government and political system, resulting in many proxy wars throughout the world.

Clearly, globalization processes can be traced back as far as one is willing to follow the migratory flows and technological inventions that have played a role in enhancing, multiplying, and extending social connections and compressing space and time. The perspective adopted by some scholars, then, that globalization is as old as humanity, is important, because it acknowledges that globalization processes are gradual and that they have a long history. However, it is also important to note that an increasing social awareness of processes now associated with the term globalization began to emerge with the advent of industrial capitalism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Writers as diverse as Karl Marx, Henry Adams, and John Dewey commented on the ways in which distance, space, time, and communication were being transformed by new technologies.36 By the 1960s, this awareness had intensified, as evidenced in Marshall McLuhan’s popularization of the term “global village.” In his 1962 book The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man, McLuhan argued that the electronic mass media collapses space and time and engenders social interaction on a global scale, thus metaphorically shrinking the globe to the size of a village. Although many have since used the term “global village” positively, McLuhan took a darker view, warning that the interdependent nature of the technologically driven global village has the potential to lead to terror and totalitarianism.37

Awareness of and theorization about the processes of globalization clearly are not unique to this current historical moment. However, most scholars would agree thatglobalization processes have accelerated dramatically since the 1980s. Many scholars would also agree that this acceleration has led to a marked intensification of our awareness of the world as a whole and the connections between the distant and the local. Important dates in this more contemporary view of globalization include IBM’s release of the first personal computer on August 12, 198138 and the invention of the World Wide Web in 1989 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee.39

Dimensions of Globalization

In order to extend our understanding of globalization, we’ll now move away from general definitions to take a closer look at some of the different processes that the term encompasses. The following sections provide an overview of some of the theoretical frameworks, issues, and terms that are characteristic of economic, political, and cultural analyses of globalization. Although each facet of globalization is linked to the general components of globalization described above, isolating and examining the economic, political, and cultural dimensions of globalization will help us to understand better the ways in which these complex forces operate both autonomously and in concert with each other.40

Economics

On November 30, 1999, thousands of protesters descended upon the streets of Seattle, Washington near the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. Activists from around the world representing diverse causes, ideologies, and local, national, and international organizations (including labor, environmental, consumer protection, student, and religious groups) marched toward the convention center from various directions. Others took control of downtown intersections. The goal? To protest and disrupt the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, preventing the approximately 5,000 delegates from more than 135 nations from getting from their hotels to the Convention Center.41 The protest soon turned violent, as police fired pepper spray, tear gas, stun grenades, and eventually rubber bullets at protesters in an effort to reopen the streets and usher the WTO delegates through the blockades. The situation descended into chaos as black-clothed youths, reported to be anarchists, began smashing windows and vandalizing storefronts. Some protesters tried to stop the vandalism while other people joined in, pushing dumpsters into the middle of the street and lighting them on fire. Mayor Paul Schell imposed a curfew and a 50-block No-Protest Zone. Protests continued for days, however, culminating in 600 arrests and an estimated three million dollars in property damage.42

It was not only the size of the protests – more than 40,000 people – and the violence that ensued that came as a surprise to many people in the United States; it was also the object of protest, the WTO, that caused many to scratch their heads. As Newsweek magazine observed in the days following the riots, “until last week, not so many Americans had even heard of the WTO. Fewer still could haveidentified it as the small, Geneva-based bureaucracy that the United States and 134 other nations set up five years ago to referee global commerce.”43 Media coverage of the riots brought the economic aspects of globalization into the American popular consciousness for the first time, causing many to wonder, “What is globalization exactly, and why are the protesters so against it?” “What are those mysterious institutions – the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank – that the media keep mentioning?” “And what could be so problematic about free trade?”

Historical roots of contemporary economic globalization

Although the activists in Seattle were a diverse group, many were protesting the forces of economic globalization, including multinational corporations, global economic institutions like the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank, and the global economic policies, such as free trade, that these institutions promulgated, often at the expense, critics would argue, of developing nations, the environment, and the poor. Economic globalization as we know it today can be traced back to decisions made at a US-and British-led economic conference that took place during the final months of World War II. The United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, which is now more commonly known as the Bretton Woods Conference, was held at a mountain resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire from July 1 to July 22, 1944. The economic conference, which welcomed more than 700 representatives from 44 Allied countries, was designed to create a system of rules, institutions, and procedures that would rebuild and regulate the international economy, preventing the monetary chaos of the interwar period (the period between the two world wars) from occurring again. Architects of the conference believed that interwar economic policies contributed to World War II. They argued that the privileging of national goals and the dismissal of international collaboration as a means of achieving those goals led to high tariffs and the devaluation of currencies in an effort to make goods more competitive on the international market. These policies in turn contributed not only to domestic economic and political instability but also to international war. According to American economist and senior US Treasury department official Harry Dexter White, who together with John Maynard Keynes dominated the Bretton Woods conference, the interwar period showed that “the absence of a high degree of economic collaboration among the leading nations will … inevitably result in economic warfare that will be but the prelude and instigator of military warfare on an even vaster scale.”44

free trade The promotion of trade in goods and services by reducing tariffs and other trade barriers.

Bretton Woods Conference An attempt to establish common rules for financial and commercial global transactions. By regulating the international monetary system, the industrial powers that met in 1944 in Bretton Woods sought to prevent the economic policies that led to the global depression of the 1920s–30s.

tariffs Taxes placed on imported goods.

The countries participating in the conference agreed that a new “open” international economic system needed to be developed. This “open” system would be characterized by lower tariffs and the creation of an international monetary system that would reduce barriers to trade. However, they also agreed that the new system should not be a laissez-faire form of economic liberalism inwhich governments do not oversee/intervene in the market economy. Rather, Keynes’s popular school of economic thought promoted a mixed economy, in which both the state and the private sector have roles to play. The new system thus included the establishment of rules regulating international economic activities. Conference members also agreed upon a more stable monetary exchange system that defined all currencies in relation to the US dollar.

laissez-faire An economic philosophy that suggests economies work best with limited government involvement.

Bretton Woods laid the foundation for three new international economic institutions that would exert tremendous influence over the international economy. The first, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (now one of five institutions in the World Bank Group), was initially designed to loan money to promote Europe’s reconstruction after the war. Later, it took on the role of loaning money to developing countries to bolster economic development. The second, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was created to take charge of the international monetary system, or, more specifically, to regulate and stabilize currency exchange rates. In the 1970s, the IMF expanded its role and began extending short-term loans to countries with balance-of-payment problems. The third, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) (which evolved into the World Trade Organization in 1995), established and enforced the rules governing international trade agreements.

balance-of-payment Refers to the total exports and imports of a given country in a given time period.

World Trade Organization (WTO) An international organization designed to promote free and uniform trade and banking and finance rules and regulations.

Neoliberalism

The Bretton Woods system created a controlled form of capitalism that lasted until the early 1970s. In 1971, in an effort to counteract forces that were undermining the economic competitiveness of the US, President Nixon abandoned the gold standard, allowing the dollar to fluctuate in value. The 1970s were characterized by global instability, including inflation, low levels of economic growth, high unemployment, and energy crises. In the 1980s, the Bretton Woods system, which had been influenced by Keynesian interventionism, was further challenged in England and the US by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and US President Ronald Reagan, both strong proponents of what is often described as neoliberalism. The term neoliberalism refers to a political movement, influenced by classical liberal economic theories, that pairs economic liberalism with economic development and political liberty. Neoliberalism portrays government control over the economy as inefficient and corrupt. Characteristic neoliberal policies include downsizing government, privatizing public or state-owned enterprises, deregulating the economy, cutting taxes, expanding international markets, and removing barriers to global trade.45

gold standard A monetary system that issues currency that is backed up by gold whereby the holder of the currency can redeem that note for an equivalent amount of gold.

neoliberalism A rejection of Keynesian economic theory, which posited that the state must play an active role in a capitalist economy in order to level out the inevitable boom and bust cycles. Neoliberals argue that deregulation and privatization of state-owned enterprises and limited government involvement in the economy as the best ways for countries’ economies to grow and individual freedoms to flourish.

Free trade and multinational corporations

Neoliberal policies, with their emphasis on free trade, contributed to the globalization of trade and finance that we see today. Indeed, free trade has become one of the most common economic buzzwords associated with economic globalization. Regional and international trade-liberalization agreements, like NAFTA and GATT, reduced trade barriers among nations. Proponents of free trade argue that eliminating trade barriers increases global wealth, consumer choice, and international security and peace. However, while some economists maintain that free trade increases the standard of living throughout the world, free trade critics point to studies that indicate that the gap between rich and poor countries is actually widening rather than shrinking. They claim that free trade allows developed nations to exploit developing countries, destroying local industry and undoing the “vital health, safety, and environmental protections won by citizen movements across the globe in recent decades.”46 Other critics maintain that free trade hurts developed nations as well, encouraging corporations to cut costs and increase profits by moving jobs to countries where they can pay workers less, avoid environmental and worker safety protections, and eliminate costly health and retirement benefits.

NAFTA A free trade agreement between the US, Canada, and Mexico that sought to encourage trade between the three countries.

GATT The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was a treaty whose functions were taken over by the WTO.

Central to the controversies revolving around free trade is the rise of multinational or transnational corporations (MNC/TNC). An MNC is a corporation that produces or delivers services in at least two countries. Their numbers have increased dramatically, from 7,000 in 1970s to approximately 50,000 in 2000.47 Their economic power is extensive; some MNCs have budgets that are larger than those of many countries. As a result of the pervasive, international power of MNCs, some have referred to economic globalization as “corporate globalization.”

Although MNCs are motivated by profit rather than altruism,48 some studies suggest that multinationals generally pay an average wage that exceeds the average rate in the local area.49 Other economists suggest that multinational companies help domestic companies learn how to be more effective and efficient, pushing all companies in an area where multinationals are operating to be more productive.50 In contrast, critics of MNCs and free trade argue that MNCs have used international trade organizations and agreements to undermine the ability of local, state, and national governments to impose safety, environmental, and wage controls on business, thus limiting governments’ abilities to protect their citizens and their environment from harm.51 Specifically, MNCs are accused of crafting trade agreements in such a way that they pit countries against each other in “a race to the bottom.” Poor countries want to attract corporations that will create jobs for their citizens, but the trade-off can be severe, as corporations are attracted to the countries that “set the lowest wage levels, the lowest environmental standards, [and] the lowest consumer safety standards.”52 As free trade critic Ralph Nader puts it, “it is a tragic ‘incentives’ lure … workers, consumers, and communities in all countries lose; short-term profits soar and big business ‘wins.’ “53

International economic institutions

The three economic institutions most commonly associated with economic globalization are the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO, all of which emerged or evolved from the Bretton Woods system. The IMF and the World Bank provided loans for developing countries, but by the 1970s, they adopted a neoliberal agenda and started integrating and deregulating markets around the globe. By the 1980s, they began implementing structural adjustment programs (SAPs) in developing countries. These programs were designed to make it more likely that debtor nations would be able to repay their loans. In order to obtain a loan or restructure an existing one, countries would have to reduce the amount of money they spent on public services, including subsidies for basic food items, health care, and education. Countries would also be required to promote foreign investment, privatize state enterprises, devalue their currencies, promote export-led economic growth, and deregulate their economies. In many countries, these new policies led to fewer social programs for the poor. In some countries, the ending of subsidies for basic items, such as bread, led to riots. For example, in Caracas, Venezuela in 1989, anti-IMF riots were sparked as a result of a 200 percent increase in the price of bread. President Carlos Andres Perez accused the IMF of practicing “an economic totalitarianism which kills not with bullets but with famine,” but in order to quell the riots, he sent the military into the slums on the hills overlooking the capital, where they fired upon people indiscriminately. According to unofficial estimates, more than 1,000 people were killed.54

Additionally, SAPs contributed to increases in pollution and the degradation of the environment in many countries due to the removal of environmental regulations and the unbridled extraction of natural resources for foreign markets. In many cases, SAPs not only failed to help develop debtor countries but also increased the poverty of their people.55 It was these kinds of IMF and World Bank policies and programs that brought so many protesters together in Seattle in November of 1999 to raise awareness and rally for change.

Politics

Although the term “politics” is most commonly associated with government, it can be used more generally to refer to the processes through which groups of people make decisions. Politics consist of social relations, then, but because decision-making is involved, politics are also about authority and power. How will a given decision be made? Whose view of a situation and what should be done about it will be adopted? How will the decision be applied and enforced? When viewed in this way, it becomes evident that politics form a part of all group interactions, from governments, to corporations, to clubs. However, at academic institutions, political scientists tend to focus their analysis and research on politics at the larger governmental level, examining political behavior and organization, systems of governance, public policy, and the acquisition, allocation, application, and transfer of power. When looking at globalization through a political science lens, the focus tends to be on issues revolving around the demarcation of the globe into nation-states, shifting territorial configurations, global governance, and other forms of supranational social and economic regulation.

Researching to Learn Investigating the effects of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) on developing nations

Sample Keyword Searches

Broad searches:

Debt AND developing nationsStructural Adjustment Programs (SAPs)

Narrower searches:

Debt AND development AND conditionalitiesDebt AND international aid AND developing nations

Advanced searches:

(“Structural Adjustment Programs” OR SAPs) AND (“World Bank”) AND (“developing nations”)(“Structural Adjustment Programs” OR SAPs) AND (Argentina OR South America)

Note:

Use quotation marks to search for terms as a phrase.Use AND to find documents with all terms listed.Use OR to find documents that contain at least one of the terms.Use parentheses to combine AND and OR statements in creative ways.

Free Web Resources

Dollar, David, and Jakob Svensson. “What Explains the Success or Failure of Structural Adjustment Programs?” World Bank. www.worldbank.org/html/dec/Publications/Workpapers/WPS1900series/wps1938/wps1938-abstract.html

Imam, Patrick. “Effect of IMF Structural Adjustment Programs on Expectations: The Case of Transition.” www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2007/wp07261.pdf

Structural Adjustment Participatory Review International Network. www.saprin.org/

University of California, Santa Cruz.

“Does Structural Adjustment work?” UC Atlas of Global Inequality. http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/sap/does_it_work.php

Books: Find Them @ Your Library

Bello, Walden F., Bill Rau, and Shea Cunningham. Dark Victory: The United States, Structural Adjustment and Global Poverty. Oakland, CA: Institute for Food and Development Policy, 1994.

Danaher, Kevin. 50 Years is Enough: The Case Against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1994.

Sahn, David E., Paul A. Dorosh, and Stephen D. Younger. Structural Adjustment Reconsidered: Economic Policy and Poverty in Africa. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

SAPRIN. Structural Adjustment: The Policy Roots of Economic Crisis, Poverty, and Inequality. London, UK: Zed Books, 2004.

Articles: Find Them @ Your Library

Brawley, Mark R. and Nicole Baerg. “Structural Adjustment, Development, and Democracy,” International Studies Review 9.4 (December 2007): 601–15.

Lele, Uma. “The Gendered Impacts of Structural Adjustment Programs in Africa: Discussion.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 73.5 (December 1991): 1452–5.

Prendergrast, John. “Blood Money for Sudan: World Bank and IMF to the ‘Rescue.’“ Africa Today 36 (Fall 1989): 43–53.

The nation-state

Traditionally, political scientists have distinguished between the terms nation and state, using the former to describe an ethnic or cultural community and the latter to refer to a sovereign political entity. As such, some states may have many nations living within them, and, conversely, some nations are not sovereign states. For example, the Native American Iroquois are a nation but not a state, since they do not have sovereign authority over their internal and external affairs.56