Globalisation | CBSE Class 12 Political Science Notes

This note covers the meaning and causes of globalisation, worldwide flows, political and economic consequences, cultural homogenisation and heterogenisation, India's economic experience, resistance across the world, Indian social movements, and the investigation of global connections in everyday life.

What is globalisation and why is it multidimensional?

Definition: Globalisation involves flows of ideas, capital, commodities and people that create and sustain worldwide interconnectedness.

The central idea is worldwide interconnectedness. Developments in one place become connected with lives elsewhere through continuing movements across borders. These connections involve what people produce and buy, where money is invested, how ideas circulate, and where people seek livelihoods.

Four kinds of flows

Globalisation is multidimensional because it has political, economic and cultural manifestations. Political questions concern the role and capacity of the state. Economic questions concern flows and the distribution of gains. Cultural questions concern preferences, influences, identities and the ways people live.

These dimensions need to be distinguished even when they interact. A discussion limited to imports misses changes in political authority and cultural life. A discussion limited to Western clothing misses investment, employment, services and the continuing role of governments.

Uneven impact

The impact is uneven between societies and within them. Some societies experience stronger effects than others, and some groups within a society are affected more than others. A general claim that everyone benefits, or that everyone loses equally, therefore misses important differences.

Nor does influence invariably travel from rich countries to poor countries. Connections can operate in different directions. Understanding globalisation requires attention to the particular flow, the people involved and the context in which its effects are experienced.

How do everyday experiences reveal globalisation?

Everyday experiences make global connections visible. A service supplied across borders, a product manufactured abroad and a conflict over changing opportunities can each illustrate globalisation. They reveal different aspects of the process, so one example cannot represent every consequence.

Services and commodities

Janardhan works in a call centre serving customers in the United States. At work he becomes John, adopts a different accent and language, and works through the Indian night because it is daytime for his customers.

His holidays follow his clients' calendar. He provides a service to people whom he is unlikely to meet physically. The example shows that global connections do not require the service provider and recipient to occupy the same place.

Ramdhari buys his daughter a cycle manufactured in China and marketed in India because it meets his requirements of affordability and quality. His earlier purchase of a Barbie doll originally manufactured in the United States also connects foreign production with Indian consumption.

Opportunities and conflicts of values

Sarika, a first generation learner, succeeds through school and college and gains an opportunity for an independent career. Some relatives oppose her decision, but she accepts an opportunity that women in her family had not previously imagined.

Her experience concerns a conflict of values linked partly to opportunities available to women and their wider acceptability. It shows why globalisation cannot be understood solely through the movement of goods or money.

The possibilities are not uniformly positive. Retail shopkeepers fear losing livelihoods if major international companies establish retail chains. Cultural influence can also provoke conflict over clothing or accusations that a film story has been copied from abroad.

Note: An example of increased choice does not prove that all groups gain. An example of insecurity does not prove that every global connection has the same harmful effect.

What causes globalisation and what is new about its present form?

Globalisation has historical roots. Ideas, capital, commodities and people have moved across regions through much of human history. Contemporary globalisation is distinctive principally because of the scale and speed of these movements, rather than because cross-border connections have appeared for the first time.

Technology and the speed of connections

Technology is a critical cause, although it is not the only cause. The telegraph, telephone and microchip transformed communication between different parts of the world. Technological advances make the movement of ideas, capital, commodities and people easier.

Changes in communication can also affect collective identities and ways of thinking. Printing helped provide a basis for nationalism. Newer technologies likewise have implications for how people understand both their personal lives and their connection with wider communities.

However, the four flows do not necessarily move at the same pace. Capital and commodities will most likely move more quickly and widely than people. Technological possibility should therefore not be confused with equal freedom of movement for everything and everyone.

Awareness of interconnections

Recognition of interdependence also matters. Improved communication alone does not explain the entire process. People must recognise that what happens elsewhere can affect them and that their own society is connected with a wider world.

Bird flu and tsunamis illustrate how the effects of events need not remain within national borders. Major economic events can similarly affect places beyond their immediate local, national or regional setting. These examples make connections between distant places easier to recognise.

The explanation therefore combines historical flows, technological change and awareness of worldwide links. Reducing globalisation to one invention, one country or one community would overlook this combination. Its contemporary form depends on changes in the reach and intensity of connections that have a longer history.

How does globalisation affect the capacity of the state?

State capacity means the government's ability to perform its functions. Globalisation raises questions about that ability and about traditional understandings of state sovereignty. Its political consequences include constraints, continuity and, in some respects, increased governmental power.

Why may state capacity decline?

A movement away from the welfare state can reduce the government's role in promoting economic and social well-being. A more minimalist state concentrates on core responsibilities such as law and order and the security of citizens.

As governments withdraw from welfare functions, the market becomes more important in determining economic and social priorities. The entry and growing role of multinational companies can also reduce governments' capacity to make decisions independently.

Why does the state remain important?

The state nevertheless remains the principal basis of political community. Rivalries between countries continue to matter. Governments still undertake essential functions, including law and order and national security, and may consciously choose to withdraw from particular fields.

Information technology can strengthen state capacity. Better technologies allow governments to collect more information about citizens. This information can increase their ability to govern, so technological change does not necessarily make states weaker.

A balanced assessment distinguishes these effects instead of announcing the disappearance of the state. Withdrawal from welfare and greater information-gathering capacity can be discussed together because they concern different aspects of governmental activity.

How does economic globalisation change flows across borders?

Economic globalisation generally involves greater economic flows between countries. Some changes are voluntary; others are pushed by powerful countries and international institutions. The process therefore cannot be understood as either wholly spontaneous or equally chosen by everyone.

Trade, investment and ideas

Restrictions on imports have been reduced, allowing greater trade in commodities. Goods produced in one economy can reach consumers in another. This is one important form of integration, but it is not the only one.

Restrictions on the movement of capital have also been reduced. Investors in rich countries can invest outside their own economies, including in developing countries, where they may obtain better returns. This connects decisions about investment across national boundaries.

Ideas move across borders too. The spread of internet and computer-related services illustrates this dimension. Janardhan's call centre work also shows why services matter when examining links between economic activities in different places.

Why is the movement of people different?

The movement of people has not increased to the same degree. Developed countries have used visa policies to guard their borders and protect jobs for their own citizens. Greater freedom for goods or investment does not establish equivalent freedom for workers.

The IMF and WTO matter because of their roles in economic policies across the world. Nevertheless, economic globalisation involves many actors beyond these institutions. Restricting the discussion to their activities would leave out other participants and important consequences.

A broader approach examines the distribution of gains: who benefits most, who benefits less and who loses. Similar policies adopted in different countries can produce different outcomes. The actual context must therefore be examined before judging the economic effects.

Increased flows and fair distribution are separate questions. Showing that trade or investment has expanded does not, by itself, settle whether those dependent on jobs and welfare are better off. This distinction explains much of the disagreement over economic globalisation.

Why are the economic consequences of globalisation disputed?

The economic debate concerns both growth and social justice. Supporters emphasise opportunities created by freer economic activity. Critics ask whether the gains reach vulnerable people and whether governments retain enough capacity to protect them.

Concerns about welfare and inequality

Critics worry that state withdrawal is likely to benefit only a small section while impoverishing people who depend on public employment and welfare. Education, health and sanitation are among the welfare concerns. Greater integration can therefore coexist with insecurity for economically weak groups.

One response is to create social safety nets and institutional safeguards. These are intended to minimise the negative effects of globalisation on vulnerable people. Their purpose is protection against losses rather than a claim that losses cannot occur.

Many movements all over the world believe these safeguards are insufficient or unworkable. They oppose forced economic globalisation because they fear economic ruin for weaker countries, especially their poor. Some economists describe this process as a form of recolonisation.

Arguments of supporters

Advocates argue that deregulation encourages growth and wider well-being. Greater international trade, in their view, allows each economy to concentrate on what it does best. They expect these gains to benefit the wider world.

Some supporters also describe economic globalisation as inevitable. More moderate supporters see it as a challenge to which societies can respond intelligently. Their position allows engagement with globalisation without requiring uncritical approval of everything done in its name.

These are competing assessments, not interchangeable facts about an identical outcome everywhere. What is clear is the growing momentum towards interdependence and integration among governments, businesses and ordinary people across different parts of the world.

Why does globalisation raise fears of cultural homogenisation?

Cultural globalisation reaches into everyday life. It affects food, drink, clothing, ideas and even what people understand as their own preferences. Its influence is therefore wider than a visible change in the products available in shops.

The fear of a uniform culture

Cultural homogenisation means the emergence of greater cultural uniformity. The concern is that a powerful culture may spread at the expense of others, reducing the variety of ways in which people live and understand their world.

In this argument, a supposedly global culture is actually the spread of Western culture. The political and economic strength of a dominant society helps its cultural preferences leave an imprint on less powerful societies. Cultural influence is therefore connected with unequal power.

The popularity of burgers and blue jeans is used to illustrate the influence of the American way of life. This cultural attraction is associated with the soft power of US hegemony. Influence can work through preferences and aspirations as well as through direct political pressure.

What is the concern about McDonaldisation?

The expression McDonaldisation captures the criticism that cultures increasingly seek to participate in a dominant American dream. The worry is that the world begins to resemble what the dominant power wants, while other cultural traditions lose space.

The possible loss matters beyond any one poor country. A shrinking range of cultural traditions reduces the richness of humanity's shared cultural heritage. The concern is about the variety of cultures across the world, not simply the nationality of a particular product.

However, recognising this argument does not establish that every external influence destroys a local culture. Cultural homogenisation is one possible effect. Whether contact reduces choices, adds alternatives or produces a new combination must be considered separately.

How can globalisation also produce cultural heterogenisation?

Cultures are not static. They continually encounter and absorb outside influences. Some influences reduce choices, but others enlarge them or modify existing practices without overwhelming them. This makes the cultural consequences of globalisation more complex than simple replacement.

More choices and new combinations

A burger need not replace a masala dosa. It can become an additional food choice. The availability of something from outside therefore does not automatically show that an existing preference has disappeared.

Blue jeans worn with a khadi kurta illustrate a different possibility: a new combination. Clothing associated with different cultural settings can be brought together in a distinctive form. Neither item has to eliminate the other for the combination to develop.

This kurta-and-jeans combination has also travelled back to the country associated with blue jeans. Young Americans wearing it illustrate why cultural exchange should not automatically be represented as a movement in only one direction.

Comparing the two cultural tendencies

Cultural heterogenisation refers to cultures becoming more different and distinctive. Globalisation can generate this tendency alongside homogenisation. The two concepts describe different effects of contact rather than two completely separate worlds.

This does not mean that all cultures have equal power. Unequal influence remains important, even where exchange produces new forms. Cultural exchange is rarely one way, although differences in power remain when cultures interact.

How did India's relationship with globalisation change over time?

India's global connections did not begin in 1991. Movements of capital, commodities, ideas and people extend back several centuries in Indian history. The form and conditions of these connections changed, especially under colonial rule and after independence.

Colonial experience and protectionism

Under British colonial rule, India became an exporter of primary goods and raw materials and a consumer of finished goods. This pattern reflected Britain's imperial ambitions rather than an independent choice about India's development.

After independence, that experience encouraged a policy of making goods domestically instead of relying on others. Restricting imports gave Indian producers an opportunity to learn to produce. This approach is described as protectionism.

Protectionism had problems as well as achievements. Some areas advanced, but health, housing and primary education did not receive the attention they deserved. Economic growth remained relatively sluggish. The experience cannot therefore be reduced to either complete failure or unqualified success.

The reforms of 1991

In 1991, India began economic reforms in response to a financial crisis and the desire for faster economic growth. The programme increasingly deregulated sectors of the economy, including trade and foreign investment.

This was a change in India's economic approach, not the starting point of globalisation as a worldwide historical process. Keeping that distinction clear prevents a national policy turning point from becoming an incorrect universal starting date.

The decisive test of development is whether growth benefits are shared so that everyone is better off. A higher growth rate alone does not answer the distributional question. Judging the reforms therefore involves asking who gains from the opportunities created.

India also contributes to globalisation. Call centre services connect Indian workers with customers abroad, while the kurta-and-jeans example shows cultural influence moving outward. India's relationship with globalisation includes participation and contribution as well as exposure to outside forces.

Why do movements across the world resist globalisation?

Resistance to globalisation includes different political arguments and different kinds of organisation. Critics do not all oppose the same features or want the same alternative. Understanding their reasons is more useful than treating every protest as an identical rejection of international contact.

Criticism from the left and right

Left critics see contemporary globalisation as a phase of global capitalism that makes a smaller group richer while worsening poverty. They argue that weakening the state reduces its ability to protect poor people's interests.

Right critics also fear a weaker state. Economically, they favour self-reliance and protectionism in at least some sectors. Culturally, they worry that outside influences will damage traditional values and established ways of life.

These concerns can overlap over state weakness while differing in emphasis. A demand for economic protection, a defence of welfare and an objection to cultural influence should therefore not be treated as precisely the same argument.

Global networks of resistance

Many movements oppose a particular programme of globalisation, which they regard as imperialist, rather than interconnectedness itself. They form alliances with groups in other countries. Resistance can therefore operate through global networks.

At the 1999 WTO Ministerial Meeting in Seattle, widespread protests challenged what protesters considered unfair trading practices by economically powerful states. They argued that developing countries' interests were receiving inadequate importance in the evolving world economic system.

The World Social Forum brings together human rights activists, environmentalists, labour, youth and women's activists opposed to neoliberal globalisation. It provides a global platform for a broad coalition rather than representing only one social group.

The first WSF meeting took place in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2001. The fourth was held in Mumbai in 2004. A WSF meeting was also held in Nepal in February 2024. These meetings illustrate the international organisation of resistance.

What forms has resistance to globalisation taken in India?

Social movements help people understand changes affecting their lives and find ways to respond to problems. In India, resistance has come from political parties, social forums, organised workers, groups representing farmers and critics concerned about cultural change.

Economic objections

Left wing opposition to economic liberalisation has been expressed through political parties and forums such as the Indian Social Forum. These protests form part of the wider disagreement over economic policies and the distribution of their effects.

Trade unions of industrial workers and organisations representing farmers' interests have protested against the entry of multinational companies. Their concerns connect global economic change with the livelihoods and interests of particular groups within India.

The patenting of plants such as Neem by American and European firms has also generated considerable opposition. This example shows that resistance is not confined to manufactured imports or foreign retail businesses.

Cultural objections

Resistance from the political right has included objections to foreign television channels supplied through cable networks, the celebration of Valentine's Day and the westernisation of clothing preferences among girls in schools and colleges.

These objections concern cultural influence and the protection of established ways of life. They need to be distinguished from protests focused on economic liberalisation, employment, farming or the entry of multinational companies.

Indian resistance therefore has no single social base or motive. Some groups focus on material interests, while others emphasise cultural values. Their common association with resistance does not make their diagnoses or preferred responses identical.

The distinction also explains why globalisation can produce both opportunities and conflict within one society. New choices may be welcomed by some people while being opposed by others. Sarika's decision to pursue a career despite family objections illustrates such disagreement over changing opportunities.

How can global connections in everyday life be investigated?

A practical investigation can begin with products and television programmes that people know. Identifying their manufacturers, makers and sponsors helps reveal economic connections that may be hidden behind ordinary acts of consumption or viewing.

A sequence for collecting and classifying information

1. List familiar products. Include food products, household appliances and luxury goods, keeping the names of the products available for investigation.
2. List favourite television programmes. Combine these entries with the product information to create a consolidated set of items.
3. Divide the investigation among groups. Assign each group products and programmes from the combined list so that the research can be organised.
4. Identify the organisations involved. Find the manufacturers of the products and the makers or sponsors of the selected programmes.
5. Classify the organisations. Separate exclusively foreign companies, exclusively Indian companies and companies working in collaboration.
6. Discuss the connections and effects. Use the findings to consider how globalisation enters daily life and how its effects may differ between groups.

This activity connects the general idea of interconnectedness with recognisable goods and services. It also directs attention to collaboration, rather than assuming that every product can be understood simply as either entirely Indian or entirely foreign.

Moving from observation to evaluation

Recognising a foreign product establishes a connection, but does not settle every question about its effects. Discussion must also consider consumers, producers and livelihoods. As people buy more foreign goods, small-scale industries have been losing customers and are closing down, making the distribution of effects important.

The investigation can lead to the wider debate about impacts on developing and developed countries. Its purpose is to link concrete observations with political, economic and cultural questions, while retaining the distinction between discovering a connection and judging its consequences.

Glossary

• Globalisation — Flows of ideas, capital, commodities and people that create and sustain connections across the world.
• Worldwide interconnectedness — Links through which events, activities and movements connect people and societies in different parts of the world.
• State capacity — The ability of a government to carry out its functions and perform the activities it undertakes.
• Welfare state — A state with responsibilities directed towards the economic and social well-being of its people.
• Minimalist state — A state concentrating on core functions such as law and order and security while withdrawing from welfare activities.
• Economic globalisation — Increasing economic flows between countries involving commodities, capital, people and ideas, with unevenly distributed consequences.
• Social safety nets — Institutional safeguards intended to reduce the negative effects of globalisation on people who are economically vulnerable.
• Cultural homogenisation — The development of greater cultural uniformity associated with the influence of a dominant culture on others.
• Cultural heterogenisation — The process through which cultures become more different and distinctive, including through new combinations of influences.
• Protectionism — An approach restricting imports to give domestic producers space to develop production within their own country.
• Deregulation — Reduction of restrictions on economic activity, including restrictions concerning trade and foreign investment.
• World Social Forum — A global platform bringing together a broad coalition of activists opposed to neoliberal globalisation.

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: Globalisation is simply international trade. Correct: It includes flows of ideas, capital, commodities and people and has political, economic and cultural dimensions.
• Misconception: Globalisation began in 1991. Correct: Its flows have a long history; 1991 marks the beginning of India's programme of economic reforms discussed here.
• Misconception: Technology is the sole cause of globalisation. Correct: Technology is critical, but awareness of interconnections also matters and no single factor explains the process.
• Misconception: Globalisation makes the state powerless. Correct: Some capacities may decline, but essential functions continue and information technology can increase governmental capacity.
• Misconception: People now move as freely as goods and capital. Correct: Developed countries' visa policies restrict migration, so these flows have not expanded equally.
• Misconception: Cultural contact inevitably destroys local traditions. Correct: It may reduce diversity, but it can also add choices and create distinctive combinations.
• Misconception: Every opponent of globalisation rejects international connections. Correct: Many oppose a particular programme of globalisation and build international networks to resist it.
• Misconception: Faster growth proves that everyone benefits. Correct: Evaluating economic change also requires examining who gains, who loses and whether growth benefits are shared.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. Ideas, capital, commodities and people move between different parts of the world. These continuing flows create links across societies. Identify the process and its central feature. [2 marks]

1. The process is globalisation, involving flows across different parts of the world.
2. Its central feature is worldwide interconnectedness, created and sustained by the continuing movements described.

Q2. Janardhan supplies call centre services from India to US customers. Ramdhari buys a Chinese-made cycle sold in India. Sarika takes an independent career opportunity despite family objections. Explain the aspect of globalisation illustrated by each case. [3 marks]

1. Janardhan illustrates the globalisation of services: a worker in India supplies a service to customers living in another country.
2. Ramdhari illustrates the movement of commodities: production in China is connected with a consumer's purchase in India.
3. Sarika illustrates changing opportunities and a conflict of values. Her career choice shows why globalisation also involves social and cultural questions, rather than only trade and investment.

Q3. Technological advances make worldwide communication and movement easier. People also recognise that bird flu, tsunamis and major economic events can affect places beyond national boundaries. Explain the roles of technology and awareness in globalisation. [4 marks]

1. Technological advances enable easier connections between different parts of the world and facilitate the movement of ideas, capital, goods and people.
2. They help explain the increased speed and scale of contemporary global connections.
3. Awareness allows people to recognise that events elsewhere can affect their own societies, as the examples in the question indicate.
4. Globalisation therefore involves both the means of connection and recognition of interdependence. Improved communication alone is not a complete explanation.

Q4. Governments withdraw from some welfare responsibilities as markets gain influence and multinational companies constrain independent government decisions. They retain law and order and national security functions. New technologies help them collect information about citizens. Assess the claim that globalisation only weakens the state. [6 marks]

1. Withdrawal from welfare functions reduces the state's role in promoting economic and social well-being.
2. The market increasingly determines economic and social priorities in place of the welfare state.
3. The growing role of multinational companies reduces governments' capacity to take decisions independently.
4. The state remains the principal basis of political community, and rivalries between countries continue to matter.
5. The state retains essential functions such as law and order and national security, while consciously withdrawing from certain other domains.
6. New technology improves the collection of information about citizens and strengthens the state's ability to rule. Globalisation therefore does not only weaken the state.

Q5. Restrictions on imports and cross-border investment are reduced, but developed countries maintain visa controls to protect their citizens' jobs. Explain why these changes do not establish equal freedom of movement for goods, capital and people. [4 marks]

1. Reduced import restrictions facilitate the movement of goods from producers in one country to consumers in another.
2. Reduced investment restrictions make it easier for capital to move between national economies.
3. Visa controls continue to limit the movement of people, even while trade and investment become less restricted.
4. The changes therefore show uneven expansion of different flows. Greater economic integration cannot be equated with equally open borders for workers.

Q6. One argument fears that dominant Western preferences create cultural uniformity. Another observes that burgers can be added to existing masala dosa choices and that khadi kurtas are combined with jeans, a combination also worn by young Americans. Evaluate whether globalisation has only one cultural outcome. [6 marks]

1. Cultural homogenisation means growing uniformity as a dominant culture leaves its imprint on less powerful societies.
2. This dominance threatens the rich cultural heritage of the whole world by shrinking cultural diversity.
3. The burger adds to existing food choices alongside the masala dosa, showing that outside influence can enlarge choices without replacing an existing preference.
4. A khadi kurta worn with jeans creates a distinctive new combination, illustrating cultural heterogenisation.
5. Young Americans wearing this combination show that cultural exchange is rarely one way.
6. Globalisation produces both homogenisation and heterogenisation. Its cultural consequences are therefore not only negative, although differences in power remain when cultures interact.

Q7. Colonial India exported primary goods and raw materials and consumed finished goods. After independence, imports were restricted to help domestic producers learn. In 1991, a financial crisis and the desire for faster growth led to reforms in trade and foreign investment. Explain this sequence and the importance of sharing growth benefits. [6 marks]

1. Under colonial rule, India exported primary goods and raw materials and consumed finished goods as a consequence of Britain's imperial ambitions.
2. After independence, this colonial experience encouraged India to produce goods domestically rather than rely on others.
3. Import restrictions gave Indian producers an opportunity to learn to make goods, explaining the policy of protectionism.
4. Protectionism brought some advances, but health, housing and primary education received insufficient attention and economic growth was fairly sluggish.
5. In 1991, a financial crisis and the desire for higher growth led India to begin reforms increasingly deregulating sectors including trade and foreign investment.
6. The ultimate test is whether growth benefits are shared so that everyone is better off; a higher growth rate alone is insufficient.

Q8. Protesters at the 1999 WTO Ministerial Meeting in Seattle alleged unfair trading practices and inadequate attention to developing countries. The World Social Forum connects activists internationally against neoliberal globalisation. Explain why resistance to globalisation need not mean opposition to every worldwide connection. [4 marks]

1. The Seattle protest challenged the fairness of trading practices and the treatment of developing countries within the global economic system.
2. The World Social Forum's opposition concerns neoliberal globalisation, indicating a particular programme rather than every form of international exchange.
3. By connecting activists across countries, the forum itself uses worldwide networks.
4. Resistance can therefore seek different terms of globalisation while relying on international solidarity and connections to pursue that aim.

Key takeaways

• Globalisation creates worldwide interconnectedness through flows of ideas, capital, commodities and people, with political, economic and cultural consequences.
• Contemporary globalisation differs in the scale and speed of its flows, supported by technology and awareness of interdependence.
• State capacity can decline in welfare provision while essential functions continue and information technology strengthens other governmental capacities.
• Goods and capital move more easily across borders, but migration remains more restricted through visa controls.
• Economic debates concern growth, inequality and protection for vulnerable people, so distribution matters alongside the extent of integration.
• Cultural homogenisation and heterogenisation describe different possibilities: growing uniformity, greater distinctiveness and new combinations can accompany globalisation.
• India's 1991 reforms changed its economic approach, while the sharing of growth benefits remains central to evaluating development.
• Resistance includes different economic and cultural concerns, and many movements use global networks to challenge particular forms of globalisation.

Test yourself

What four flows are central to globalisation?

The four flows are ideas, capital, commodities and people moving between different parts of the world.

What distinguishes contemporary globalisation from earlier connections?

The scale and speed of flows distinguish contemporary globalisation, although worldwide connections have a long historical background.

How can new technology strengthen a state?

It can improve the government's ability to collect information about citizens and thereby increase its capacity to govern.

Why are social safety nets proposed?

They are intended to reduce the negative effects of globalisation on economically vulnerable people through institutional safeguards.

What does the khadi kurta and jeans combination illustrate?

It illustrates a distinctive cultural combination, showing that external influence can modify culture without simply replacing existing practices.

Why did India begin economic reforms in 1991?

India responded to a financial crisis and the desire for higher economic growth by increasingly deregulating sectors including trade and foreign investment.

Where were the first and fourth World Social Forum meetings held?

The first was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2001; the fourth took place in Mumbai in 2004.

How do economic and cultural objections to globalisation in India differ?

Economic objections include opposition to liberalisation and multinational entry. Cultural objections include concerns about foreign television, Valentine's Day and westernised clothing preferences.