Globalization



Globalization

Introduction

Although globalization is often seen as an economic phenomenon, it represents multiple processes whereby local populations are influenced by events that take place in different regions, different countries, and even different continents. David Held of the London School of Economics tells us that globalization may be thought of as a process that embodies a transformation in the spatial organization of social relations and transactions, assessed in terms of their extensity, intensity, velocity, and effect, creating transcontinental or interregional flows and networks of activity, interaction, and the exercise of power.

It refers to the economic, political, social, environmental, cultural, discursive, and ideological elements of human existence. Each of these domains of globalization are intimately connected and are emphasized differently, depending on the particular perspective. This article highlights the nature of environmental elements in globalization. Humanity's influences on environmental problems are recognized as being linked to the generation and distribution of wealth, knowledge, and power, and to patterns of energy consumption, industrialization, wealth, and poverty. Initially, a brief history of the processes that have led to the rise of globalization with particular reference to environmental issues is outlined. Following this the nature of current global environmental problems is presented.

Discussion

Globalization and the Compression of Space and Time

Geographical distances can be overcome more easily and rapidly than ever before in history. The resulting compression of time and space has influenced the nature of the processes associated with globalization. This compression is largely due to new technologies of transportation and communications (e.g., developments in aircraft, telegraphic and telephone communication, and computer-based information technologies), the roots of which go back to at least the mid 19th century. These innovations allow for global coordination of social and political actions in simultaneous time; for example, through synchronized communication, people from (nearly) every corner of the world can get news of events at (nearly) the same time when they occur.

Empirically, however, participation in those forms of communication and information flows is a question of their accessibility—that is, of social status and power; globalizations are much more widespread in the industrialized world than in less developed regions. However, the potential use of these innovations is, in principle, unrestricted. The compression of time and space also increases the permeability of borders in a wider sense—of territorial borders that control flows of people, goods, and information across nations and states.

The porosity of borders also shapes transnational social organizations and movements. Because in democratic and pluralist political cultures the use of communications technologies is generally not restricted to certain classes or the elites, social participation in and use of their advancements in the industrialized world resulted in a massive increase of substate, global organizations during the late 20th century, for example, nongovernmental organizations. The growth in the number of such nonstate actors led to an increase in transborder social, political, and economic activities worldwide.

These actors and their transborder activities, enabled by modern technology, play a key role in contemporary transnationalization and denationalization. The critical relevance of these two processes of globalization ...