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Justin Frewen
One would have to lead the existence of an unrepentant hermit, allergic to our all
pervasive media, to have avoided coming into contact with the much discussed and
be traced back several centuries, at least, for political leaders around the globe it has
over the past couple of decades become a favourite if not all embracing mantra.
However, despite its frequent use and even more frequent misuse or abuse, globalisation
not only suffers from a lack of clear definition but its meaning is also heavily contested.
It is difficult, indeed, to think of any concept that has seen as much hot air expended as
that of ‘globalisation’. Politicians such as Bill Clinton informed us that we are ‘powerless
to resist’ as the search for policy options was a pointless one while Tony Blair, echoing
Margaret Thatcher’s “there is no alternative” (TINA) dictum with respect to the pursuit of
Academics too have fallen victim to its’ seemingly irreversible and remorseless logic
pushing us to ever greater conformity in terms of ‘End of History’ liberal democratic free
advances accompanied by liberal economic structures that have thrown us headlong into
a ‘runaway world’ characterised by a “global order that no one fully understands, but
which is making its effects felt upon all of us.” (Giddens, 2002: 6)
see how such a conclusion really contributes to our understanding of the economic and
political forces and structures shaping the current global arena. In an effort to rigorously
analyse the range of globalisation theories and also provide their definition as to what
globalisation truly entails perhaps the most ambitious attempt can be seen in the work of
globalisation theories under three main headings namely “hyperglobalists”, who maintain
that the ascent of the worldwide economy, together with “the emergence of institutions
of global governance, and the global diffusion and hybridization of cultures” are evidence
of a “radically new world order” (Held et al, 1999: 4); “sceptics”, who hold that the
current phase of globalisation is in fact not historically unique; (Ibid: 6-7) and; finally
transformationalists, with which Held et al generally agree, who argue that although it is
the “central driving force behind the rapid social, political and economic changes
reshaping modern societies and world order”, who exactly will be the main beneficiaries
the spatial organization of social relations and transactions – assessed in terms of their
glows and networks of activity, interaction, and exercise of power’. (2001: 18)
academic terms, comprising a great deal of serious and rigorous research and analysis,
globalisation has manifested itself in the manner it has. Apart from negating the political
perspectives of the various theorists, assimilated under the neutral(ising) categories of
of Held et al’s definition of globalisation is provided by Rosenberg, who claims it falls into
... no-one denies that ‘worldwide social relations’ do indeed exist today in ways and to a
degree that they never did before, there can be no objection to calls for a theory of
globalisation, if that means an explanation of how and why these have come about. But
such an explanation, if it is to avoid empty circularity, must fall back on some more
basic social theory which could explain why the phenomena denoted by the term have
become such a distinctive and salient feature of the contemporary world.” (2000: 2)
In short, the explanandum, which should deal with understanding the fact that
being “progressively transformed” into the explanans where globalisation is now being
applied to give meaning to the “changing character of the modern world” of which it is
itself a prime component. Given this conceptual circularity and lack of investigation into
the driving forces generating globalisation it is debatable as to how much such theories
The social theorists Petras and Veltmeyey tackle this particular issue head on when they
emphasise the need not only to undertake theoretical analyses that attempt to describe
markets in the belief that free flows of trade, capital, and information will produce the
best outcome for growth and human welfare. When the term globalization is used... it is
usually presented with an air of inevitability and overwhelming conviction, betraying its
which elements of globalisation have occurred ‘naturally’ and those which are being
driven by powerful sectors of the political and economic communities whether through
national elites. In this way, it becomes possible to identify the boosters and drivers of
globalisation might entail and how we as ordinary citizens might try to ensure it works
In this respect, the ideological component of globalisation comes into play. As Gélinas
clarifies:
explaining the world according to the world-view of those who hold power. In this sense
it is an ideology: that is a coherent set of beliefs, views and ideas determining the
nature of truth in a given society. Its role is to justify the established political and
economic system and make people accept it as the only one that is legitimate,
has instead been “shaped by complex and dynamic set of interactions between
and the ideology of globalism, who celebrate “globalisation either as intrinsically valuable
globalisation, they are missing the point. The elites will manifest other means of
extending their power in order to extract the maximum possible from the fruits of the
dismantlement of the public health service in favour of the private health sector.
Similarly as the banks are bubble wrapped in billions of taxpayers’ money, earnest
leaders) as to whether child support should be means tested or taxed and the
desirability of bring more people such as social welfare claimants into the tax net in
order to prevent the poor ship of Ireland from running onto the reeks of financial ruin.
While such practical matters might seem light years away from the arcane musings of
prescriptive driving force behind ‘globalisation’, its mechanics and ideology, we run the
risk of accepting it and the policy prescriptions that emanate from its principles as a ‘fait
there are always alternatives no matter how much those in power work to repress them.
Bibliography
Callinicos, A. (2001) Against the Third Way. Polity: Cambridge
Gélinas, J. B. (2003) Juggernaut Politics: Understanding Predatory Politics. Zed Books:
London
Giddens, A. (2002) Runaway World: How Globalization is Reshaping Our Lives, (2nd ed.).
Profile Books: London
Held, D.; McGrew, A.; Goldblatt, D. & Perraton, J. (1999) Global Transformations:
Politics, Economics and Culture. Stanford University Press: Palo Alto, Ca
Parekh, B. (2004) ‘Globalisation for a multicultural world’. Globalisation and Equality,
(Horton, K. & Patapan, H. eds.), London and New York: Routledge
Petras, James and Henry Veltmeyer. (2001), Globalization Unmasked. London: Zed
Books.
Rosenberg, J. (2000) The Follies of Globalisation Theory. Verso: London
Singh, K. (2005) Questioning Globalization. Delhi: Madhyam and London & New York:
Zed Books