Globalisation

Watch

• Lets Talk About Globalization! | Charles Beem | TEDxUNCPembroke ↗TEDx Talks
• The Next Global Superpower Isn't Who You Think | Ian Bremmer | TED ↗TED
• Could 'degrowth' save the world? | BBC News ↗BBC News
• Globalization: Winners and losers in world trade (1/2) | DW Documentary ↗DW Documentary
• Globalization - How crises change our World (2/2) | DW Documentary ↗DW Documentary
• Globalization and Migration (Documentary and Discussion) ↗shdw

Read

• The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization ↗An accessible and influential exploration of the tension between globalising markets and enduring local identities, defining the late 20th-century landscape.Thomas L. Friedman
• Globalization and Its Discontents ↗An incisive critique from a Nobel laureate, dissecting the pitfalls of market fundamentalism and its social repercussions in the global South.Joseph Stiglitz
• Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural EconomyA foundational essay introducing the influential 'scapes' framework for understanding the complex, non-isomorphic flows of global culture.Arjun Appadurai
• Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture ↗A comprehensive and authoritative academic survey, mapping the multifaceted dimensions of globalisation across political, economic, and cultural spheres.David Held, Anthony McGrew, David Goldblatt, Jonathan Perraton
• The Rise of the Network Society ↗A monumental analysis of how information technology and networked structures are fundamentally reshaping societies and driving contemporary globalisation.Manuel Castells

Voices to follow

• Arjun Appadurai ↗His pioneering work on 'scapes' offers a nuanced framework for understanding the complex, multi-directional flows of culture and capital in a globalised world.Emeritus Professor of Media, Culture and Communication, New York University
• Saskia Sassen ↗A leading theorist of global cities, she meticulously dissects the intricate connections between urban centres, migration, and the spatial dynamics of global capitalism.Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University
• Thomas L. Friedman ↗His accessible narratives, particularly 'The World Is Flat,' have popularised complex ideas about technological convergence and economic integration, shaping public discourse on globalisation's drivers.Foreign Affairs Columnist, The New York Times
• Naomi Klein ↗Her incisive critiques, notably 'No Logo,' provide a powerful counter-narrative to corporate globalisation, exposing its social and environmental costs with compelling journalistic rigour.Author and Social Activist

Glossary

• Cultural ExchangeCultural exchange is when ideas, traditions, food, music, and fashion from one part of the world spread to and mix with those from other parts. This makes cultures richer and more diverse. For example, when you see Indian yoga studios in America or eat Italian pizza in India, that's cultural exchange.
• Digital DivideThe digital divide refers to the gap between people who have easy access to modern information technology, like the internet and computers, and those who do not. This can create inequalities in education and opportunities. For example, students in a city with fast internet and laptops have an advantage over students in a rural area with no internet access.
• Economic InterdependenceEconomic interdependence means that countries rely on each other for goods, services, and resources. If one country's economy struggles, it can affect others. For example, if a country that makes a lot of clothes has problems, stores in other countries might not get enough clothes to sell.
• GlobalisationGlobalisation means that countries and people around the world are becoming more connected and dependent on each other. This happens through things like trade, technology, and travel. For example, when you buy a smartphone, its parts might come from many different countries, showing how connected the world is.
• InterconnectednessInterconnectedness means that different parts of the world are linked together and influence each other. What happens in one place can affect many other places. For example, a major news event shared on social media can quickly be seen and discussed by people all over the globe.
• MigrationMigration is when people move from one country or region to another to live, often for work, education, or to escape difficult situations. This movement of people contributes to cultural mixing and economic changes. For example, someone might migrate from a small town to a big city for a better job opportunity, or from one country to another for higher education.
• Multinational Corporation (MNC)A Multinational Corporation (MNC) is a large company that operates and has offices or factories in many different countries, not just its home country. For example, a company like Coca-Cola or Samsung makes and sells its products all over the world.
• OutsourcingOutsourcing is when a company hires another company, often in a different country, to do some of its work, like customer service or manufacturing. This is often done to save money or use specialized skills. For example, a phone company in the US might have its customer support team located in India.
• Supply ChainA supply chain is the entire process of how a product is made and delivered to you, from getting the raw materials to manufacturing, shipping, and selling. It often involves many different companies and countries. For example, the cotton for your t-shirt might come from India, be made into fabric in China, and then sewn into a shirt in Vietnam before being sold in your local store.
• Trade AgreementsTrade agreements are official deals between two or more countries that set rules for how they will buy and sell goods and services from each other. These agreements often aim to make trade easier and cheaper. For example, a trade agreement might remove taxes on certain products exchanged between India and Japan.

Threads 4

Where this connects to other fields, and why it's worth knowing.

• Biodiversity Loss Environment

  Millions of years ago all the continents were one giant landmass, Pangaea. Global shipping is quietly gluing life back together into a new one: the same containers that spread the same coffee brands everywhere also spread the same rats, weeds, and diseases. So the world's ecosystems are blurring into sameness, exactly like its cultures.

• Language Evolution Literature

  Right now a human language dies roughly every two weeks, the biggest wave of language extinction ever. It's a side effect of the world connecting: for trade and travel, everyone drifts toward a few giant shared languages like English. What's brilliantly efficient for business is quietly lethal for the thousands of small tongues it shoulders aside.

• Operations & Supply Chains Business

  Factories used to keep warehouses full of spare parts to absorb surprises. Then 'just-in-time' shipping ditched the stockpiles to save money, so parts arrive exactly when needed. Great, until one ship got stuck sideways in the Suez Canal and car factories across the planet ground to a halt. Turns out being super efficient and being super fragile are the same thing.

• Complexity & Emergence Science

  Wiring the whole world together smooths out the little bumps, but it trades them for rare giant ones. When everything's connected, one bank collapsing in Thailand or one virus in Wuhan can ripple to the entire planet at once. Scientists call this 'robust yet fragile': super steady most days, then suddenly all-at-once catastrophic.