Dimensions of Globalization

Dimensions of Globalization
Manfred Steger, professor of Global Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa argues that globalization has four main dimensions: economic, political, cultural, ecological, with ideological aspects of each category. David Held's book Global Transformations is organized around the same dimensions, though the ecological is not listed in the title . This set of categories relates to the four-domain approach of circles of social life, and Circles of Sustainability.
Steger compares the current study of globalization to the ancient Buddhist parable of blind scholars and their first encounter with an elephant . Similar to the blind scholars, some globalization scholars are too focused on compacting globalization into a singular process and clashes over “which aspect ...

Dimensions of Globalization
Manfred Steger, professor of Global Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa argues that globalization has four main dimensions: economic, political, cultural, ecological, with ideological aspects of each category. David Held's book Global Transformations is organized around the same dimensions, though the ecological is not listed in the title . This set of categories relates to the four-domain approach of circles of social life, and Circles of Sustainability.
Steger compares the current study of globalization to the ancient Buddhist parable of blind scholars and their first encounter with an elephant . Similar to the blind scholars, some globalization scholars are too focused on compacting globalization into a singular process and clashes over “which aspectof social life constitutes its primary domain” prevail.

Dimensions of Globalization
Manfred Steger, professor of Global Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa argues that globalization has four main dimensions: economic, political, cultural, ecological, with ideological aspects of each category. David Held's book Global Transformations is organized around the same dimensions, though the ecological is not listed in the title . This set of categories relates to the four-domain approach of circles of social life, and Circles of Sustainability.
Steger compares the current study of globalization to the ancient Buddhist parable of blind scholars and their first encounter with an elephant . Similar to the blind scholars, some globalization scholars are too focused on compacting globalization into a singular process and clashes over “which aspect of social life constitutes its primary domain” prevail.

The Peace of Westphalia also established international law by establishing rules for relations between states through the development of professional diplomats in charge of foreign affairs. Of course, when diplomacy failed, as it often did, then, states would go to war with each other. Simply put, there was a clear distinction between the domestic domain, where the authority of the state was absolute, and the international domain where states were expected to follow minimal rules.Globalization signals the end of sovereignty because a state can only be sovereign if it can exercise authority over a given territory. For several reasons, such an exercise of power is no longer possible. Postindustrial economies rely on data and communication technologies that make borders irrelevant. For instance, if the United States decided to ban Internet pornography, how would it go about doing so? Congress is constantly pondering ways of regulating the Internet without ever finding a practical way of doing so because the Internet is a borderless, non-territorial, transnational technology. The United States is then left to sanction what remains territorial: people. A state can still prosecute individuals consuming pornography over the Internet.Similarly, no single state can protect its citizens from global warming or the depletion of the ozone layer or other environmental dangers. For instance, in 1986, when the core reactor of a nuclear power plant in Chernobyl (Russia, then the USSR) experienced a meltdown, the populations affected by radioactive particles were not just located in the immediate vicinity of the plant. We know that radioactive clouds “traveled” across Europe and even though experts in some countries swore that those clouds conveniently stopped at the borders of their respective countries, their populations were skeptical. Another way in which state sovereignty is undermined relates to the reflexive character of globalization. In order to be able to exercise power over its citizenry, the state needed to establish itself as legitimate, that is, to justify its power (through reference to religion or ancestry in the case of monarchy, or through elections, in the case of democracies). One such way, as Durkheim showed, was to create an affective link, or social solidarity, between the citizens and the state so that people would identify with the state and its goals. Nationalism would provide such a link. Nationalism is an ideology that binds people to their country through a shared history, language, symbols (flags, emblems for instance) or rituals (celebrations of the Fourth of July). Through nationalism, individuals would integrate the nation as a major component of their identity.Globalization, as a reflexive process, undermines national identity by promoting identifications “from below,” as in the case of local nationalism. For instance, in the 1990s, when communism rule ended, Yugoslavia, a multicultural country, exploded in genocidal violence as each component ethnic group demanded independence. People of this country no longer identified themselves as Yugoslavs, but as Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Albanians, etc. The pressure exercised by such extreme ethnic identifications resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe and years of bloodsheds. Globalization has promoted the rise of localized ethnic solidarities. As international conflicts (conflicts between nations) wane, globalization gave birth to new wars within states.Similarly, globalization undermines national identity “from above.” In this case, sources of identifications are based on transnational loyalties. For instance, in Globalized Islam, Olivier Roy has shown that members of many Muslim movements find their source of identity and solidarity in a global Muslim community connected electronically, and not territorially. These Muslims may be citizens of different states, but their source of identity is their religious membership. In this global context, such non-territorial identities are also reflected in global movements focused on gender, race, social class or sexual orientation.At the same time that states are undermined by globalization, they also actively promoted the demise of their sovereignty by agreeing to dismantle national policies on trade, financial regulations, labor protections and welfare guarantees in the name of global competition. They have also agreed to submit to regional (agreements between states in a common area) or global regulations. For instance, European countries that are also members of the European Union must abandon national laws if these contradict European regulations. The creation of regional blocs such as the European Union (EU), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) whose rules take precedence over national legislation is a product of globalization. In addition, most states are embedded within the multiple agencies of the United Nations (UN).Cultural DimensionsCultural globalization is the intensification and expansion of cultural flows across the globe. Culture is a very broad concept and has many facets, but in the discussion on globalization, Steger means it to refer to “the symbolic construction, articulation, and dissemination of meaning.” Topics under this heading include discussion about the development of a global culture, or lack thereof, the role of the media in shaping our identities and desires, and the globalization of languages.Cultural globalization simply means the extensiveness, intensiveness, velocity and impact of cultural flows – transmission of symbols, ideas, artistic and consumption products – on a global scale. Technologies of transportation and communication facilitate cultural diffusion and an emerging global consciousness. And as our globalization theorem shows, symbolic exchanges are the ones most easily globalized.